Now a Trip Report!!! Will We Stay or Will We Go? A Thanksgiving Pre-Trip/Trip Report

[Charleston Princess]

Thanksgiving brunch at Boma -- yum!

 

[jillyb]

Thanksgiving brunch at Boma -- yum!

That's what I thought when I looked at the menu!

 

[jillyb]

We got Mickey Mail today!!!!

When I saw it I said "Wooho! We've got Mickey Mail!" and Hannah said "Give me the Mickey Mail!" She had the honor of carrying it in. Clay was on the phone with his buddy and was telling him about our trip when I walked in and said "We got Mickey Mail today!" He told his buddy "See what I mean?"

I have been remiss is my "this day next month" posts is acknowledging possible DIS meets. I'm hoping to meet mousescrapper and disney<333 and their families.

 

[jillyb]

On this day next month we will be returning to the Magic Kingdom. We'll eat breakfast at the Pop food court and then head out.

The plan for today is:

All of Fantasyland
Meet n Greet with Tiana and Prince Naveen (MeMom I will send Prince Naveen your regards!)
Meet n Greet with Ariel (I hear Prince Eric is no longer appearing. )
See Rapunzel and Flynn Rider
Lunch @ 11:00 @ The Plaza Restaurant
Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! @ 12:30
Tiki Room (I think I had this for our first day but have moved it to today)
Tom Sawyer Island

Now here's where things are a bit up in the air. Magic Kingdom is open until midnight, has MSEP at 9:00 and 11:00 and Wishes at 10:00. If we return to the MK on our first day we'll see MSEP and probably won't see it again. I would like to see Wishes in the park but, since we saw them the night before on the Poly Beach everyone might not want to see them again. I have a second dinner ADR at WCC @ 6:15 that I'm probably not going to keep but keeping my options open right now.

So, assuming we won't be seeing MSEP and Wishes again and I don't keep the WCC dinner, I'd like to take a long break back at Pop, eat dinner at the food court, head back to Magic Kingdom around 7:30 or 8:00 and continue as follows:

Philharmagic
Hall of Presidents
Any rides that we want to do
Stay until park closes and head back to Pop to crash!

I will have one GAD voucher left and will get all of the GAD FP exchange cards that morning as well as collect FPs for anything else we may want to ride that night.

The next day will be our last day so we can sleep in the next morning. I think I'm going to request a late check out just to cover my bases.

Our last day will be at Epcot.

 

[luvmy2babies]

We hope to see Tiana and Naveen too on Monday, our first full day. Well, actually, if I don't get dd to Tiana, ds and I might need a separate plane to get home.

Every touring plan (when I pick one with young children) says head straight for Dumbo at rope drop and we will, but if that line looks like we'll be in it past 9:40, we won't get in it. I want to catch her first appearance of the day so we hopefully won't have to run back and forth. Unless the hours have changed, they greet from 10am to 3pm. From what I have read, they come out on the hour, greet for 40 minutes, then take a 20 minute break. I believe the weight of the dress combined with them being outside dictates this. I have read though that the CM is good about knowing where to stop the line, so you won't likely get in it, stand in it and then not get to see her. They cut the line off at some point.

Touringplans.com has a Dumbo or Die plan. Mine is the Tiana or Die plan.

 

[jillyb]

We hope to see Tiana and Naveen too on Monday, our first full day. Well, actually, if I don't get dd to Tiana, ds and I might need a separate plane to get home.

Every touring plan (when I pick one with young children) says head straight for Dumbo at rope drop and we will, but if that line looks like we'll be in it past 9:40, we won't get in it. I want to catch her first appearance of the day so we hopefully won't have to run back and forth. Unless the hours have changed, they greet from 10am to 3pm. From what I have read, they come out on the hour, greet for 40 minutes, then take a 20 minute break. I believe the weight of the dress combined with them being outside dictates this. I have read though that the CM is good about knowing where to stop the line, so you won't likely get in it, stand in it and then not get to see her. They cut the line off at some point.

Touringplans.com has a Dumbo or Die plan. Mine is the Tiana or Die plan.

Dumbo is definitely the first ride we'll be doing in Fantasyland. On our first trip I was the Fastpass volunteer to Space Mountain while DH took the girls to Dumbo. Not sure what happened but the girls ended up riding on the 3rd cycle, which isn't bad but it could have been better! LOL This year I'm hoping that the castle will be open and we can walk through instead of having to go around. As long as you're there at rope drop and go straight to Dumbo I don't think there'll be a problem with the line.

From what I've seen on Steve Soares site (http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/) Tiana and Naveen are out daily intermittently 10:00 to 4:45. Of course that's for this week so don't know if that will change during our trip. Steve updates his site every Saturday for the next week. Unfortunately I'll be in WDW when he updates for our week. Guess I may have to spring for one day of internet so I can check it.

 

[jillyb]

On this day next month it will be our final day of vacation. I'll be sad that it's coming to an end and having to return to the real world but I'll also be looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and getting my privacy back!

We'll spend our last day in Epcot and the plan for today is to see as many of the Storytellers as we can before Clay has to drag me out kicking and screaming.

Breakfast will be at the Pop food court and we have a 1:20 lunch at Coral Reef. We ate there on our first trip and really liked it. Clay requested we eat there again so I was happy to oblige. I'm looking forward to the mahi mahi!

==========================================================

Well, that pretty much concludes how we'll spend our time in the World. This weekend is going to be a busy one.

I work one more day this week and then I'm off until Monday. I think Hannah is looking forward to spending the day with me on Friday because on the way home yesterday she said "Me and Mama gonna be chillin' together." She wants to go see Secretariat. I don't know if we'll do that Friday morning or if we'll wait until Saturday so Clay can go with us. Friday afternoon we'll meet up with some friends and do the candy crawl downtown. Nothing planned for Saturday yet. If MIL's church is having trunk or treat that night we'll probably do that. Then, of course, the big day....Halloween. Hannah will be staying with her Mamaw and Pawpaw on Monday and Tuesday.

From then on things will be moving at warp speed as I juggle work, school, Scouts and home duties all while trying to get last minute stuff together for our trip.

That's it for now!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Great last two day plans!!! Although reading about that last day is always so sad to me.

 

[jillyb]

Great last two day plans!!! Although reading about that last day is always so sad to me.

Thanks Jackie! I've been debating on whether to get Clay's opinion on both MK days. If we're going to see the Castle lighting it would have to be that first MK day and I'd want to leave right after that to have an early night. Don't know if that would fly or not. Of course, if I start talking about all this to Clay his eyes will just glaze over and then he'll get irritated and say "Let's just see how we feel and go from there."

Just talking about the last day makes me sad and we haven't even left yet! Hannah pulled another number off the countdown calendar before bed tonight and she was really excited to see how much closer it's getting.

I finally convinced Hannah to empty her piggy bank and I've separated all the coins and will be taking them to the bank tomorrow. That money will then go on her gift card. She kept out 30 pennies and the requisite quarters to do pressed pennies. I've got them in an M&M tube and just need to print out the label for it. Still need to get Alison's pennies and quarters.

 

[jillyb]

With school being out today I took the day off to hang out with my favorite girl. Well, I ended up having lunch with my Mom, Katie, Madison and Hannah and had Madison until 7:00 tonight. Not exactly how I'd planned the day but it was still fun.

One thing we did do that I'd planned was the Candy Crawl downtown. We met one of Hannah's friends there and the girls got tons of candy. Saw lots of interesting and cute costumes today. After we finished we went to the creamery and had ice cream. Yum! Here's some pictures of our day:

Cinderella walking to her carriage:

The three amigos:

As ya'll can see, Madison was Cinderella. We were sitting on a bench outside a beauty shop while waiting for the candy crawl to begin. I looked over and saw Madison looking in the window. I'm not much of a photographer but I know a photo op when I see one! I was worried they might not turn out good but I'm very pleased with them. I just love this picture of her and edited it with several effects. I hope you'll endulge this YaYa as she shows off her Granddaughter:

The first time this lady walked by she said "Boy! Everybody is wearing costumes today! I wish I'd worn my costume today!" She came by again and said the same thing. The girls were clueless. My friend and I were cracking up!

I think Cinderella briefly thought she was Sleeping Beauty!

I thought this was the cutest costume!

Window decorations

When I took Madison to meet her biological father, she fell asleep. I'm sure she went back to sleep on the way home. I needed to run some errands but Hannah fell asleep so I only made one stop. She was not happy about me waking her up! She fell back to sleep as we headed home and went straight to bed when we got here. She was so tired she didn't even ask me to read to her! Tomorrow will be the day I do all the things I didn't get to do this morning.

Happy Halloween!

 

[Charleston Princess]

The girls are so cute in their costumes! Love Hannah's Mad Hatter costume, and Madison as Cinderella is great! The lady saying she wished she had dressed up was too funny! The picture of Madison looking in the window is wonderful!

 

[MeMom]

Meet n Greet with Tiana and Prince Naveen (MeMom I will send Prince Naveen your regards!)

Only if he's that really cute one.
I've seen a couple of others that aren't quite as handsome as mine.


Looks like you had a fun day with your girls....
or whoever those assorted guests were - mad, royal, and butterflyish - that were with you yesterday.

 

[Poolrat]

Sounds like a great relaxing days with the girls.

Love the pictures in downtown. I have not been up there in ages.
Glad you made it to the creamery.... my favorite.

Remember before you go this time we must do lunch again.

 

[jillyb]

The girls are so cute in their costumes! Love Hannah's Mad Hatter costume, and Madison as Cinderella is great! The lady saying she wished she had dressed up was too funny! The picture of Madison looking in the window is wonderful!

Hannah was fed up with the hat before it was over with! LOL The picture of Madison looking in the window is my absolute favorite.

Only if he's that really cute one.
I've seen a couple of others that aren't quite as handsome as mine.


Looks like you had a fun day with your girls....
or whoever those assorted guests were - mad, royal, and butterflyish - that were with you yesterday.

I'll make sure it's the really cute Prince Naveen!

We had a very fun day! The butterflyish girl was Hannah's friend that lives in our neighborhood and is in her class.

Sounds like a great relaxing days with the girls.

Love the pictures in downtown. I have not been up there in ages.
Glad you made it to the creamery.... my favorite.

Rememeber before you go this time we must do lunch again.

It wasn't very relaxing but it was fun! We were a bit ahead of the crowd but by the time we got to the end of the block on the right side of the street the line was crazy on the left hand side of the street. All I could think about was "If this was Disney World there's no way I'd be standing in this long line."

We definitely nned to get together for lunch before we leave. This time it will be me getting ready to leave for a trip to Disney instead of you! LOL

 

[disney<333]

Looks like a fun day! I love the costumes! Emily went as the Mad Hatter, too.
What time are you leaving? I'll probably bring the girls over to POP on that Saturday for them to see it. We have a 1:00 PM ADR at WCC.

 

[mousescrapper]

Jill your Fri 26 and Sat 27 have many similarities to ours I know we'll be able to meet besides I have some goodies for Hannah and Allison

Love the Halloween pix and Madison looks so beautiful love the dress

hijack Barbara you are going now ?? Have to ck your report YAY!

Julie

 

[jillyb]

Looks like a fun day! I love the costumes! Emily went as the Mad Hatter, too.
What time are you leaving? I'll probably bring the girls over to POP on that Saturday for them to see it. We have a 1:00 PM ADR at WCC.

Check out is undetermined at the moment! I really need to talk to Clay about staying until the MK closes on the 26th. If we do that, I don't know how late we'll sleep. On the other hand, I'd like to be at RD for the WS so we can see as many (or possibly all) of the Storytellers as we can. I can PM you my cell phone number if you like and we can confirm plans once I know for certain what we're going to do the night of the 26th.

Jill your Fri 26 and Sat 27 have many similarities to ours I know we'll be able to meet besides I have some goodies for Hannah and Allison

Love the Halloween pix and Madison looks so beautiful love the dress

hijack Barbara you are going now ?? Have to ck your report YAY!

Julie

I was noticing that when reading you recent updates! We need to figure out where/when to meet.

 

[jillyb]

I managed to get all my errands run on Saturday...grocery shopping, t-shirts and dark transfer paper at A.C. Moore, money on Hannah's Disney gift card, candy for the trick-or-treaters and even managed to find a couple of things to take on the trip.

First stop was The Dollar Store, where I bought the candy. I decided to look around some and found a pocket organizer and mesh laundry bag.

I've got an over-the-door hook I can take to hang the pocket organizer. The pockets are just the right size to hold toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodarant and brushes.

I bought another t-shirt to re-do Clay's Drinking Around the World t-shirt. I also bought a black t-shirt for me to re-do my AK shirt. However, after washing and drying my t-shirt I don't like the way it looks, fits or feels. It's boxy looking and feels stiff. I think I've decided to order a Hanes brand fitted t-shirt from Jiffyshirts.com. That's what the white t-shirt was and I liked the way it felt, looked and fit.

Clay never got around to carving the pumpkins so while getting the t-shirts Hannah and I checked out the Halloween foam stickers. She picked out some she liked so we ended up decorating the pumpkins with foam stickers!

Hannah's pumpkin:

My pumpkin:

When we walked in to A. C. Moore, I put my name in for a drawing for a holiday basket they were giving away. I was about to leave the store when I remembered the drawing was at 2:00 so Hannah and I went back inside. She decorated an M&M cookie while we were waiting. When it was time for the drawing I was saying "Please pick me! Please pick me!" She pulled out the paper, asked me my name and when I told her she said "That's what I've got!" She even turned it around to show me she wasn't just making it up! Here's what I won:

After that we headed to Concord Mills to the Disney Store. Browsed around in there for a bit and bought a small Pooh bear for Clay's co-worker. The guy he supervises became a first time Father on Thursday afternoon and I thought it might be a good idea for the boss to get a present for the new baby! I'm going to add a pack of diapers to the package and we're going to try to see them this weekend.

After that, Hannah and I hit Books-A-Million. She picked out a Magic Tree House book called "Haunted Castle on Hallows Eve". I didn't realize until we got home that it's the second book in a series so I guess I better get the first one! I got one of the Never Land Books by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Unfortunately, it's the last of the series and they didn't have the first two so I'm not on a mission to get the first two! I also picked out a Banana Grams book for the girls to take turns using on the trip down.

I wanted to make sure Hannah would be able to work them so while eating some gelato we worked on a couple. She did really good!

Halloween was fun. Clay's family came over and we grilled out. It was time for Hannah and I to start making the rounds so we didn't eat until we came home. Since we didn't have Alison this year for Halloween Clay and I took turns taking Hannah around the neighborhood. We went around with her friend Bailey for the first hour or so and Clay took her out for the second hour. She got a ton of candy and I figure with what she got at the candy crawl and what she got on Halloween night she's set until next Halloween!

The days seem to be flying by now. I've been throwing things in the suitcases or adding them to the pile as I go along. I need to send Alison an e-mail before Friday with a list of things from her Mom's house that she needs to bring with her for the trip. Hannah is going to a sleep over Friday night at a local science museum with her Brownie troop. While she's at the sleep over Clay and I will take Alison to the Disney store to top off her gift card. We also need to go to Kohl's or somewhere to buy her a few cold weather tops, not only for the trip but for her to wear when she's with us. Oh...I bought Hannah and Alison a couple of long-sleeve t-shirts to wear under the t-shirts I made for the cool mornings/evenings.

Next week the packing and doing laundry will begin in earnest. I need to pull out Hannah's summer clothes and put them away. I'll keep a couple of her Disney t-shirts and a few pairs of shorts out for the trip but everything else will be put away.

That's about all for now. Hope everyone has a great week!

 

[Poolrat]

Looks like you are organized.

I like the stickers on the pumpkins!

Time will fly by. I am getting excited for you.

 

[luvmy2babies]

Time is really moving fast now. I have a huge pile of stuff to pack in the walk-in closet in my bedroom and transfer paper on the kitchen table and print-outs and binders there too. I got a bit behind trying to do one thing for the trip, but got it done today.

I've secured lunch at Akershus. I can't describe the relief. Time to get on with it for real. It will be time to go before we know it.

Hooray! It's November!!!!