My first PTR and my DS4's first trip to the World.

[PrincessBrideJo]

Hello everyone! My name is Joanna. This is my first PTR on the disboards so bare with me, ok? I have a biology degree, not an english degree and as MOST scientists would tell you - we are horrible at spelling and grammar.

So first a bit about us I guess is the prim and proper thing to do. So here we go.

As I said I am Joanna. I am a stay at home mom to two wonderful little boys - William (4 years) and Josiah (18 months). I have had disney world bred into me. I live and breath all things Disney, haha. I was taken first when I was in 1st grade. My mom having had a infatuation with the big mouse since she was little was bound and determined for me to have that love as well. My dad, a more rational thinker thought we should also vacation elsewhere. So we didn't take yearly trips to the world, but I still fell in love. I can remember my first trip clutching to my dad as we went through Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. When asked what 1 ride to go on again that day (we had time for 2 more rides so mom let each of us kids pick 1) I picked...Pirates, haha. We went again when I was in 5th grade as we had a foreign exchange student and we wanted him to experience it as well. Then my 8th grade decided to take their class trip there - my year was the first year, before that it was DC...it was fate that *I* would get to Disney with all of my closest friends! I then convinced my loving husband to take me back for our honeymoon (he is not the Disney freak I am). Then his mother actually took me, my SIL, and soon to be SIL the next year. What a great family, hehe. Our last trip was for our 5 year anniversary. We had decided to leave our then 18 month old William at home (and while at Disney decided to have another baby, but that's another board, haha).

I just looked for our honeymoon and anniversary pictures on our computer to post one and my loving husband (not at home) informs me they are on a hard drive in his closet...oh so helpful.

So here is some of us...
This is me and our DS4

This is DH with both of our sons.

I think that is all I shall post tonight. So for tomorrow (since everyone seems to end with questions...)
Why do I only say it is DS4's first visit and not DS1.5?
How did this trip come into existence?
How long will we be staying? Where will we be staying?

All questions to be answered....tomorrow...hehe.

 

[englishrose47]

Well I folowed yourlink from the Dole WhipMeet!!Good start to you PTR!!

 

[PrincessBrideJo]

So I am a talker if you can't tell by past posts (if you have read them) so I will mostly likely start off each chapter with whatever is going on in my life.

Today I needed chocolate. NEEDED it. And as I was rocking my 18 month old to sleep for the 3rd time my dog ate my last two mini-candy bars i had hidden away from Valentine's day. My LAST 2. I had gotten them out right before DS woke back up and put them on the table. Grrrrrrr.....

Well the one thing that make me happy no matter what is Disney so here we are.

DH and I were planning our first disney trip with kids in 2011. For multiple reasons. First our DS1.5 would be old enough to enjoy it. And second that is when our disney rewards on our visa would start to expire. So that is when we were going next. We are selling our house currently and buying a new one so there wasn't a lot of money to be spending on vacations this year.

Then the Sunday of the 15th I was at my in law's house watching TV as usual. See we don't have cable at home so I catch up on a lot of shows at her house on Sundays. Well I was doing that and I happened to see a commercial for the buy 4 get 3 free for Disney World. When hubby came in (he was taking the boys on a walk) I teased him that we should go to Disney now because of this great deal. We both laughed and moved on.

Well I woke up on that Tuesday and suddenly remember my commercial. So while hubby was in the shower i jumped on a "booked" a trip. The deal was pretty amazing. I did all the research - booking with the meal plan, the CS meal plan, with and without airfare - I did it all. I wrote it all down and then found out how many disney rewards we had. So i then pitched it to hubby once he got out of the shower. He wanted a few more details - how many miles of a drive it was and gas $ and things like that. So we e-mailed back and forth all day asking our questions.

One question that came up was whether our very opinionated, strong willed and impatient 18 month old would do well. I just had visions of him screaming everywhere in the stroller because he hates being in the stroller, wiggling and fighting us while waiting in lines, being grouchy from lack of sleep and being too hot. So we actually decided he was still too young for all of us to enjoy the world together. He won't remember it, our DS4 will think he is hot stuff having mom and dad all to himself, and DS1.5 will enjoy being spoiled by his Nana.

Another question was whether to fly or drive. Since it was gonna be over $800 to fly (no, I didn't do research...just booking through Disney) all 3 of us down there and about $100 gas money there (and $100 back). And the fact that both hubby and I HATE to fly, we made the decision to drive. We drive to Austin, Tx every year and our son has done great with that. It is the same 17 hours in the car so we should be able to do it.

And the last question was the dinning plan. We ultimately decided to go with just the CS plan. We just figured that we will want to spend most of our time in the parks and not eating so we are fine with CS this time. I think DS won't want to sit still to eat when there is so many things to be doing anyways. And besides we like a lot of the counter services they have!

So after calling Nana and confirming dates with her we started to book our trip for May 9th -16th. But then hubby looked at his work calendar and he found out he was going to training till the 8th (and we would need to leave that day since we are driving). He thought driving home from training, basically having time to pee and then hop back in the car for 17 more hours wasn't a good idea. so he moved our trip to the 10th-17th.

That Tuesday night we booked our trip, and I haven't had a good night's sleep since!!!!

And well I am not sure wha tI am going to talk about next so come back and it will be a mystery...hehe!

 

[annie1995]

I'm in!!! Beautiful family BTW!

 

[PrincessBrideJo]

I'm in!!! Beautiful family BTW!

Thank you so much!!!

 

[englishrose47]

I'm still here !! I am also going in September with the family and today I found out we have FD So I am VERY Happy!! saved us about $1700!!!!

 

[colinsdad]

Subscribing!

Can't wait to read more about the planning.

 

[PrincessBrideJo]

I'm still here !! I am also going in September with the family and today I found out we have FD So I am VERY Happy!! saved us about $1700!!!!

FD is ALWAYS NICE. When we went in '06 we got free dinning and we ate GOOD. Yummy!!!

 

[PrincessBrideJo]

So after reading about Jason's spreadsheets last night I was inspired...haha.

I made a spreadsheet for the days we are there that have each park and what is going on and what time at each park. So I can see which day there is a parade, a fantasmic, etc.

It helped me so much mentally! Whew. I still haven't decided which parks when. I really am leaving this trip much more open than past trips since it is DS's first trip there. You know if we go and he just falls in love with MK, then we will spend more time there. If he loves AK, the we spend more time there. It will be totally up to him really. Now in saying that, I am a planner to a fault sometimes so this is really hard for me!!!

I did however make some decisions based on this. We will be arriving Sunday the 10th and leaving Sunday the 17th. We have 7 day park hopper passes.

I really wanted MK to be our first park. It is just something magical about it. And DS associates the castle with disney world, so it will be good for him. AND I thought it would be the perfect place to start gauging how he will do with rides. The barnstormer for example will see if he can do other rollar coaster rides. Haunted Mansion and Snow White will show me if he can deal with the pretend scary stories.

So in saying that we were really contemplating just heading to MK first on that first Sunday. But then with my super duper spread sheet I see that Wishes is on Monday, so that is perfect. So Monday the 11th will be our first day in parks.

Well then I was looking around and found the T-Rex restaurant. Perfect! So I made an ADR for that on Sunday at 5. So we can get in town and then just chill out after our all night drive. If we can get in our hotel (which I am not expecting at all considering Saturday night was BOOKED when we booked our trip) we can go swimming or just sit and watch the Disney channel! If not we can go to DTD and go to the lego store and goofy's candy company and what not.

DS will be so ecstatic to eat at T-Rex (not to mention me and hubby!). This, I hope, will also ease him into animatronic dinosaurs for the Dinosaur ride (still not sure if he will ride it though).

With my super cool spreadsheet I also decided on Thursday(the 14th) we are gonna go for the morning extra hours at MK (might wait to ride dumbo till then too, we will see!) and then hop to DHS when it gets too busy so we can do Fantasmic that night.

So gonna start a semi-schedule that I will be adding too as it gets closer!

S - 5:00 reservations at T-Rex, check in, DTD shopping, get to bed early!
M - MK wishes at 10
T -
W -
Th - MK Magic Hours at 8, DHS fantasmic at 9
F -
S -
S -

 

[colinsdad]

Wow you got a lot done in a day!

I'm a bean counter by trade, so I can't do anything without my spreadsheets.

T-Rex looks great from the pics I've seen. We're not doing DTD this trip, but will definately try it in August. I definately want a report on that one when you go.

I think the CS dining plan you got takes off some of the pressure of where to be and when too. Planning is fun, but flexibility is pretty cool too.

 

[PrincessBrideJo]

Wow you got a lot done in a day!

I'm a bean counter by trade, so I can't do anything without my spreadsheets.

T-Rex looks great from the pics I've seen. We're not doing DTD this trip, but will definately try it in August. I definately want a report on that one when you go.

I think the CS dining plan you got takes off some of the pressure of where to be and when too. Planning is fun, but flexibility is pretty cool too.

I think if I hadn't gone into biology I would have gone into math and prolly ended up a bean counter as well! haha.

There will definitly be a TR and include ALL about t-rex!

Flexibility is so not cool to me, haha. I have a touch of OCD (don't we all?) and I love to plan. Hubby laughs so hard at me as he is much more a live in the moment kind of guy. I guess he really does complete me....ok that was sickening sweet, wasn't it...yuck!

 

[PrincessBrideJo]

So I need some help and I have some serious DISers who read my PTR so I need your help, k? guys?

So as you know my plan is pretty non right now, here is it so far.

S - 5:00 reservations at T-Rex, check in, DTD shopping, get to bed early!
M - MK wishes at 10
T -
W -
Th - MK Magic Hours at 8, DHS fantasmic at 9
F -
S -
S -

We of course are going to hit all 4 major parks and will not be doing any water parks. We have the CS dining plan so we are looking for CS for meals. It is, of course, totally flexible but I still want to eat the best even if I only got CS! haha.

Yesterday (or maybe the day before, I have lost a day this week...do you know where it went? ) I made a list from allears and wrote down all the CS that they had listed for the dining plan. From that list I wrote down the ones that *I* really want to try or think would be awesome for DS4. So here they are (and there are not many!)

AK - Flame Tree BBQ
Epcot - ???? (really clueless on this one!)
DHS - Pizza Planet
MK - Noodle Station (if it is open), and Cosmic Rays (hubby and my fav hamburger joint)

Ok, so yeah that is it. Any other ideas of what is good?

I can't believe I go to disney NEXT MONTH!!!!!

To let you on other news of my disney planning I have been working on a stroller decision. Jason - do you stroller Collin? What do you like/dislike in a stroller for Disney? Anyone else with kids - feel free to answer too!!!

 

[PrincessBrideJo]

Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in awhile but it has been a bit crazy. I went to the Dentist on Monday and found out I need 2 fillings and 1 crown replaced, yuck! I am hoping to get the important filling done monday, and the rest done after Disney as they are not bothering me because I know from past experiences that crowns can be a pain in the butt for a few weeks after getting it done. Anyways....then Tuesday I went to the dr and I just happen to step on a nail that morning so they gave me a tetanus shot which also had pertussis in it. I thought nothing of it till the next day when i was on my death bed! It was horrible. I called my mom to whine about it and she told me "That is exactly what happened to you when you got your pertussis shot, we stopped giving it to you because you reacted so poorly". Oh great, that would have been nice to know before hand. So this week has not been fun.

I haven't done much planning as of late. I went through the snacks and found what people said were wonderful or what I thought looked good.

No one has answered my CD questions from my previous post or my stroller questions. No opinions?

 

[My2Qtz0205]

I have not yet visited WDW with a child, but I am going with my 2 young children (6 and 3) in October.

We are DEFINITELY doing a stroller. Even for the 6 y.o., that is a lot of walking! It will just cut down on the whining, IMO. My in-laws are driving down, so they will take our double stroller down with them so we don't have to load it onto the plane. The stroller rental rates have also gone up. I think a double is $31/day, not sure about a single.

 

[colinsdad]

I made a list from allears and wrote down all the CS that they had listed for the dining plan. From that list I wrote down the ones that *I* really want to try or think would be awesome for DS4. So here they are (and there are not many!)

AK - Flame Tree BBQ
Epcot - ???? (really clueless on this one!)
DHS - Pizza Planet
MK - Noodle Station (if it is open), and Cosmic Rays (hubby and my fav hamburger joint)

Ok, so yeah that is it. Any other ideas of what is good?

To let you on other news of my disney planning I have been working on a stroller decision. Jason - do you stroller Collin? What do you like/dislike in a stroller for Disney? Anyone else with kids - feel free to answer too!!!

Hi Jo!

My favorites for CS are the following:
AK: Flame Tree - very good choice. I almost exclusively eat here and get the Ribs. Pizzafari is a close second and has an excellent Italian sandwich which is huge.

Epcot: Sunshine Seasons (at the Land by Soarin' is one of the best CS at WDW). They have food stations, so there is a huge variety. They even have sushi here. I personally love the pork chop with the mashed potato side, and get a huge rice krispie treat for dessert.

MK: I also like Cosmic Rays because they have Ribs. The chicken and rib combo is one of the best CS deals at WDW. Columbia Harbor House in Liberty Square is great too, because it is more laid back, and has an upstairs dining area that is a good place to get away from the crowds. Not many people know the seating area exists.

DHS: By far my favorite is Starring Rolls. Again, this is a place for those "in the know". Most people think they only serve pastry and coffee (which they do) but at 11:30 you can get some of the best sandwiches you'll find on a CS credit. My favorite is the Turkey Foccacia. I also sometimes eat at Planet Pizza because my DS likes it.

As pp noted, a stroller is a must at WDW and 6 isn't too old with all that walking. Most people who rent wish they brought one because when the kids fall asleep in it, and your heading back to the resort you have to return it and wake them!

 

[PrincessBrideJo]

So I have been reading a thread with pictures of snacks on the DDP (from 2008) and oh my goodness....mmmm. It is good thing you walk around so much at disney. Crazy Crazy!

So the ones I must try....(not necessarily in this order!)
Ice cream sandwich
mammoth cashew pattie
cappuccino float
Dole Whip float (I think this is the only one I have had before and I can't wait to have it again!)
spicey cheese pretzel
chocolate croisant
school bread
sweet pretzel
And of course the make your own stuff...not sure what to get - oreo, pretzels or rice crispy treat...maybe 1 of each, haha!

We are on the CS dinning plan which includes 2 snacks a day.... How awesome is that!? We are there for 7 days, and have 3 people...that is like 42 snacks, right? And DS and DH aren't much of snack people. Although I know DS will be ordering but not finishing them...mmmm...hehe. We bring in our water bottles and fill them up at water fountains and just get our soda fill from the hotel and CS's so it snack credits will be ALL for actual snacks....WOWEE. Can you tell I am excited for the snacks? My mouth is water right now thinking about it......

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Where have I been that I have not heard of a mammoth cashew pattie? Please tell. I need to know of this.

I'm piping in on the stroller question. Just take it. If you find you're not using it than leave it in the hotel. It's better to be safe than sorry. They are so expensive to rent now and if you do rent you can only use them in the parks. Not from your hotel bus stop to your hotel room which might I add a four year old can be pretty heavy coming home from the fireworks when you have been walking all day and still have half a mile before you get to your hotel room door.

Plus for my family, my kids get overwhelmed and really apreciated having a "safe" spot to be in that reminded them of home.

Then there is the issue of crowd control. So much easier to manoever the stroller through large crowds than a small child who will get pushed aside by the crowd.

There there is safety. If your child is in the stroller than he is not getting lost. I'm fearful of my kids wandering away.

So in my opinion, and you did ask, take your stroller. Better safe than sorry.

 

[PrincessBrideJo]

Where have I been that I have not heard of a mammoth cashew pattie? Please tell. I need to know of this.

I'm piping in on the stroller question. Just take it. If you find you're not using it than leave it in the hotel. It's better to be safe than sorry. They are so expensive to rent now and if you do rent you can only use them in the parks. Not from your hotel bus stop to your hotel room which might I add a four year old can be pretty heavy coming home from the fireworks when you have been walking all day and still have half a mile before you get to your hotel room door.

Plus for my family, my kids get overwhelmed and really apreciated having a "safe" spot to be in that reminded them of home.

Then there is the issue of crowd control. So much easier to manoever the stroller through large crowds than a small child who will get pushed aside by the crowd.

There there is safety. If your child is in the stroller than he is not getting lost. I'm fearful of my kids wandering away.

So in my opinion, and you did ask, take your stroller. Better safe than sorry.

Mammoth Cashew Patty is at the Main street bakery. Actually I haven't heard anyone talk about it but I just read it on the confirmed snacks and thought...that is gonna be mine! I love just about anything cashews!

Yeah I am definitely taking the stroller. I was just second guessing myself because hubby (And from your trip report I know you understand that my husband doesn't understand all the planning!) said "You are taking a stroller?" when I mentioned buying a new one. He thought I was insane. I don't think he remembers how much it is to walk. Our DS is a VERY good walker, but I KNOW, like 100% KNOW, he will fall asleep on some rides and then if we didn't take the stroller hubby would be exhausted because he would have to carry him. Not to mention like you said falling asleep on the bus on the way home, there is NO DOUBT IN MY MIND that this will happen every night. The boy can sleep, and fall asleep anywhere! So anyways, not second guessing myself and not buying a new stroller either. We are borrowing my best friend's that she bought specifically last year for her Disney trip with her older (and therefore heavier) boys. Although I think with my b-day money (in July, so after the trip) I am going to buy a new stroller anyways as I would really like a nice light weight stroller for my DS1 too!

 

[PrincessBrideJo]

so today I decided to start my still to do list and my packing list. I don't know why I waited so long for this! But here we go...Let me know if I have forgotten anything, k?

Disney To Do List

1.Buy...
sunscreen
hats
shampoos, conditioners, soaps
flushable wipes (DS will NOT poop in a potty unless he knows they are available)
bag (I want to take 2, one for me and one for DH in case we split up.)
water, juice, ?non-refrigerated milk?
snacks for the trip/room – lunchables, chips, bread
Cooler stuff for the way down – lunchmeat, cheese, mayo
pull ups (DS still uses them at night)
little hair spray

2.Pack for the car...
leapster
DVD player and DVD's
pull-ups
PJ's for William
clothes for William
cooler – sandwiches, lunchables, water, juice
ipods and chargers
phones and chargers
GPS's (yes this is plural, you have to know my DH)
maps (this is for me, in case of GPS failure which usually happens)
pillows and blankets
Camera and charger

3.Pack for the trip
9 outfits for me and PJs
9 outfits for Chris and PJs
9 outfits for William (extra clothes too) and PJs
swimming suits and gear
shampoo, conditioner and soap for each of us
deodorant for both of us
hair dryer and brush
medicated powder
aloe
pony tail holders and hair spray
PAL Mickey
laptops and chargers (once again, yes...plural)
extra shoes for everyone
crocs, sandals and tennies for William
crocs and tennies for me.
Sandals and tennies for Chris
medicines -
William's meds including nebulizer
My meds
tylenol (children and adult), ibuprofin, asprin, pepto
bandaids and ointment

ziploc baggies and walmart sacks
Stroller

4.Pack for Josiah...(he is staying with Nana while we are gone)
10 outfits
PJ's
meds-
nebulizer meds
tylenol

pacis
blankies

 

[colinsdad]

So I have been reading a thread with pictures of snacks on the DDP (from 2008) and oh my goodness....mmmm. It is good thing you walk around so much at disney. Crazy Crazy!

So the ones I must try....(not necessarily in this order!)
Ice cream sandwich
mammoth cashew pattie
cappuccino float
Dole Whip float (I think this is the only one I have had before and I can't wait to have it again!)
spicey cheese pretzel
chocolate croisant
school bread
sweet pretzel
And of course the make your own stuff...not sure what to get - oreo, pretzels or rice crispy treat...maybe 1 of each, haha!

We are on the CS dinning plan which includes 2 snacks a day.... How awesome is that!? We are there for 7 days, and have 3 people...that is like 42 snacks, right? And DS and DH aren't much of snack people. Although I know DS will be ordering but not finishing them...mmmm...hehe. We bring in our water bottles and fill them up at water fountains and just get our soda fill from the hotel and CS's so it snack credits will be ALL for actual snacks....WOWEE. Can you tell I am excited for the snacks? My mouth is water right now thinking about it......

I subscribe to the jjohnson 2009 Confirmed Snack Credit post. OMG there are some great choices.

Sleepy Hollow in the MK has excellent funnel cakes, and I always love to hit the Patisserie in Epcot to have a Napoleon. I've also had the Ham & Cheese croissant there which was a great snack (and could even be had for a breakfast or lunch).

If I'm ever by Cookes of Dublin in DTD (and remember) I'd have to try the "doh-bars". I've never had a fried candy bar, but have had a fried twinkee, fried whoopie pie, and fried oreos at our local county fair. They were soooooo good.