*****Official (??) June 2014 Thread -- Party Like It's Hot!*****

[PinkBudgie]

I would leave the ponchos too, but I don't want to spend another $50 on new Disney ponchos for my family... :-( I am a bit of a cheapskate.
When compressed, five ponchos don't take up that much space (about the same amount of space as a pair of pants.)

It's just DH and I so not so many to buy. We saved a ton by waiting until the boys were in collage so we could go by ourselves. Just the savings on the food alone is huge.

I just spent a good chunk of today optimizing touringplans for my trip. I have them all the way I want then except for my second Epcot day. For some reason it really wants me to walk back and forth across the park a bunch of times and do VoL separate from American Adventure. I will have to spend more time on this later. I have had enough for today.

On a happier note I am 41 days from when we leave! Woo hoo!

I have touring plans too. What is VoL and American Adventure? And can you explain why they should be together. I ran in to an issue with DAK where it wanted us to suddenly be at the Conservation Station, then take the train there after. Saves time that way. I don't always know if something is supposed to go together since I've never been. I've also had a lot of trouble knowing how many things to put in to the Epcot plans since I don't really know how much is too much. I think for the countries we may have to just wander on our own.

 

[kitayama]

Disneyland is easy; I use my Disneyland drawstring bag. But this trip, I have a DSLR I'm taking so I'm "thinking" maybe I need a better bag. And now all of a sudden DD has decided she wants to carry one too, so that she can have a water bottle. Great, less stuff for me to carry, but now I have to worry about her remembering here's. What do you guys think? Is 10 too young to be responsible for your own bag in the parks???

When my 15 year old was 10, she wanted her own bag too when we went places... I carried it most of the time.
Get something that will fit in your bag just in case.

 

[MOpGrad2013]

It's just DH and I so not so many to buy. We saved a ton by waiting until the boys were in collage so we could go by ourselves. Just the savings on the food alone is huge.



I have touring plans too. What is VoL and American Adventure? And can you explain why they should be together. I ran in to an issue with DAK where it wanted us to suddenly be at the Conservation Station, then take the train there after. Saves time that way. I don't always know if something is supposed to go together since I've never been. I've also had a lot of trouble knowing how many things to put in to the Epcot plans since I don't really know how much is too much. I think for the countries we may have to just wander on our own.

VoL is Voices of Liberty. Here's a youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BunxSQEuhb8

 

[kitayama]

It's just DH and I so not so many to buy. We saved a ton by waiting until the boys were in collage so we could go by ourselves. Just the savings on the food alone is huge.

That would have saved a lot of money... The little ones don't eat much, but the number of people add a lot of expenses.
When you add a fifth person to the room, you can no longer get a standard room. I also feel compelled to purchase the mini version of whatever I buy myself... :-(

 

[Planning fanatic mom]

What do you guys think? Is 10 too young to be responsible for your own bag in the parks???

That is exactly how old my daughter was when she carried her own bag. She only forgot it once in the bathroom at 50s Prime Time Cafe. Luckily we noticed it missing pretty quickly and found it. She didn't have anything in it that couldn't be easily replaced. She didn't have a phone then. If she's normally a responsible young lady, then I'd let her do it. Just my thought.

 

[2Tiggies]

Opened the mail box and our first set of Magic Bands had arrived!!!:yah::yah: This trip is finally getting real. We are less than 26 days now, and I don't know who is more excited: me or DD? I guess it's time to start packing and see how much stuff I need to eliminate. On the topic of poncho's, I've got a bunch of the Dollar Store ones, but if it really seems like rain, I plan to get the Mickey ones there. Right now I'm trying to figure out what bag to carry this trip. Disneyland is easy; I use my Disneyland drawstring bag. But this trip, I have a DSLR I'm taking so I'm "thinking" maybe I need a better bag. And now all of a sudden DD has decided she wants to carry one too, so that she can have a water bottle. Great, less stuff for me to carry, but now I have to worry about her remembering here's. What do you guys think? Is 10 too young to be responsible for your own bag in the parks???

My DD has been carrying her own bag since she was 6 or 7. The conditions were simple. If you don't take it, it doesn't go to the parks. So there were a couple of days where she went empty handed and then wanted something and didn't have it and she learned fast only to pack what she needed or she would have to carry it around all day. I did keep her spending money but I won't carry her stuff. I know I'm mean but I also carry a bag of camera gear with me. W pack out park bag for the next day as soon as we get back to the resort at the end of the day and it's become a routine that we do together. Teach her the risk of taking valuables and she will surprise you

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[MOpGrad2013]

My DD has been carrying her own bag since she was 6 or 7. The conditions were simple. If you don't take it, it doesn't go to the parks. So there were a couple of days where she went empty handed and then wanted something and didn't have it and she learned fast only to pack what she needed or she would have to carry it around all day. I did keep her spending money but I won't carry her stuff. I know I'm mean but I also carry a bag of camera gear with me. W pack out park bag for the next day as soon as we get back to the resort at the end of the day and it's become a routine that we do together. Teach her the risk of taking valuables and she will surprise you

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Agree. Similar situation with my kiddos. DD started carrying same age frame. DS a little younger, but that was because his school had alot of trips and each student had to carry a bag with snacks, jacket in it.

 

[rainydayplay]

Mouse3Dad, alexensmom, jd4nati, alayne, Anethesia_Fine, Sweetmo, jessie31383, and sedaniel! Hopefully, I spelled all of that correctly...

Update: June 7-14 BLT

You have been updated!

Name: JJ
Travel Dates (if known): Jun 7th-13th
Where Will You Be Staying?:ASMu
Travel Party: DW, DD7
Current Location: Ohio
Favorite Disney Character: Jack Sparrow
Favorite Disney Movie: Don't tell anyone, Little Mermaid
How Many Trips?: 8th Trip. 4 with my wife, 2nd as a family, 3 previous when I was growing up with my parents.
On-Site or Off?: Onsite for some, offsite for some
Best Disney Story: Have to say my daughters first look when seeing the castle from a distance. Second was our honeymoon hotel for wife and I (offsite)
What do you look forward to most on your next trip? Dining Plan, so 5 different character meals.

Which character meal are you looking most forward to? Which ones are you doing? We've done CRT (used to do it every trip, but the menu changed and has rotated all of our favorite stuff off...and there is something wrong about paying that much $$ for fried chicken...), Akershus, CM, CP, GG, 1900PF, and hitting TH on this trip!

Putting our hat into the ring:

I'm Audra.
Staying at Pop Century June 9-14.
Me, my Mom, and DD to celebrate her 16th birthday.
Monsters U is my fav movie.
My 8th trip and DDs 4th.
Love Wilderness but going on the cheap this trip.
My favorite memories are DD being given a Tinkerbell Dreams Come True pin one morning when we were on the boat on the way to breakfast at Chef Mickeys. The other was watching my DS interact with Belle in Epcot on his first trip.
Looking forward to walking into MK and seeing the castle. Chokes me up every time.

Nothing quite like driving under the Disney World sign and that "Welcome Home" when you check in.

I'm a bit late but I'd like to join the June party!

Name: jd4nati
Travel Dates (if known): June 3-10
Where Will You Be Staying?: Animal Kingdom Lodge
Travel Party: Myself, DH, and twin DDs (10)
Current Location: Southern California
Favorite Disney Character: Rapunzel
Favorite Disney Movie: Tangled
How Many Trips?: First Trip to WDW. Disneyland Vet and AP holder
On-Site or Off?: On-Site
Best Disney Story: TBD
What do you look forward to most on your next trip? Being immersed in the Disney bubble.


My family and I are super excited to be taking our first trip to the world. We are Disneyland veterans and we are looking forward to traveling to WDW for the first time.

I've learned early on that there is much more planning involved in a WDW vacation vs. Disneyland. I love to plan vacations so the process has been fun.

ADRs are made, BOG lunch fast pass is secured, and FP+ reservations are all set. All I need now is for the time to tick a bit faster to get us to June!

Better late than never. I recently had to explain to one of my scouts that we go to Disney WORLD in Florida, not Disneyland. "Oh...what's the difference?" I should be , but she's never been to either, so I guess it's okay...

I would love to join the June Party!!

Name: Allison
Travel Dates (if known): June 10 - 15
Where Will You Be Staying?: BoardWalk Inn
Travel Party: Just Me and DH
Current Location:
Favorite Disney Character: Mickey
Favorite Disney Movie: Aladdin
How Many Trips?: at least 15 or more
On-Site or Off?: On-Site
Best Disney Story:
What do you look forward to most on your next trip? Illuminations Cruise and Wild Africa Tour

Super excited to be spending my Birthday and our 15 Year Wedding Anniversary in Disney this year!!

Very awesome celebrations! My sister-in-law's first trip two years ago was her First Visit, Anniversary, and Birthday! Lots of wishes for happiness for her! Should be pretty magical for you, too!

Hi! First time poster, checking in! Ridiculously excited; I've been to WDW a handful of times but it's always been combined with family visits or conventions; this is our first big Disney-only trip with the whole family now that we're done spawning.

Name: AF is fine. Heh.
Travel Dates (if known): We start driving down June 7th and will be leaving June 14th!
Where Will You Be Staying?: BLT
Travel Party: Me, the spouse, the teenage daughter, and 2 younger sons.
Current Location: NJ
Favorite Disney Character: Don't make me pick!
How Many Trips?: 6
What do you look forward to most on your next trip?: Two things: one, watching everyone else enjoy themselves. The last time we were there it was the first visit for my spouse and our daughter. We only had one day, we spent it at MK, and they still talk about it as one of the best days of their lives. For real, I have never seen a grown man as insanely happy about "it's a small world" in my entire life. Two, all the non-MK parks. I haven't been to Epcot since 1989, and I am so excited to go back, finally, as well as check out HS and AK!

I've been getting some good tips from the boards, though I am starting to think I'm enjoying the planning stages more than anything else!

Love, love, LOVE Epcot! You know, this year, it wasn't looking too good for our annual trip. We started with ..eh...we can go down, do Epcot for my bday, MK for DD's, go home. Weeeellllll.....you CAN'T just do ONE day at those parks...so...two at each..yeah...but, then we really like going to those other two parks and can't really miss them.... And back to an 8 day trip, just like that. We've had some not sure if we will be able to go moments, but, so far, all is well. Hope you all find some new favorites, getting to go to those "new" parks.

41 days to go! Today I started packing. Since we are driving down, I am putting items in bankers boxes--kitchen and bath stuff. It's probably more than we will use, but I'd rather have more than have to go to the store. Besides, whatever is left over, we will just drop off at DS19's new house.

DS3 is definitely ready. He has a calendar on the fridge that we are using to count down. All he looks at is that mouse ear date. Last night we watched Fantasmic! on youtube. Still concerned about it all being bigger than life and scaring him, but he kept turning to me and saying "s'ok mum. Mickey Mouse wins."

DH got the official time off approval. Woo Hoo!

Excited for everyone who got their FP+ for BOG and the 7DMT.

I wish we could start packing (even though still 50+ days out). I've got a conference in Birmingham the first week of June, so, as soon as I get back from that...I will pack!

Joining late but super excited!

Name: Marissa
Travel Dates (if known): May 31 - June 6
Where Will You Be Staying?: Pop
Travel Party: Me, DH, DS3, DD7
Current Location: Texas
Favorite Disney Character: Belle
Favorite Disney Movie: Beauty and the Beast, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Swiss Family Robinson
How Many Trips?: This is my second trip and the first trip for the rest of the family
On-Site or Off?: On-Site
What do you look forward to most on your next trip? My childrens' reactions, Pirates and Pals Fireworks, just being on vacation!

I have had everything planned for so long and we are finally less than a month away! Is it weird that I already want to start planning my NEXT trip and we haven't even gone on this one yet?

No, it most certainly is NOT weird. 3 years ago, we were about 2 hours from Orlando when Mom looked at me and said we'd have to take sister-in-law the next year (because she'd never been), and we've already started talking about what we're going to do/not do next year....

Name: Jessie
Travel Dates (if known): June 9-14
Where Will You Be Staying?: CBR
Travel Party: Myself, Hubby, and 2 beautiful princesses
Current Location: DFW
Favorite Disney Character: This is really hard!!! Jasmine I think
Favorite Disney Movie: Lion King
How Many Trips?: This will be first
On-Site or Off?: On site
Best Disney Story: Don't have one yet
What do you look forward to most on your next trip? Everything! A little overwhelming, I actually feel like a kid again I am so excited!

That could be the next advertising point...where everyone can be a kid again!

Name: Sarah
Travel Dates (if known): 06/16-06/22
Where Will You Be Staying?: POFQ
Travel Party: Myself and my boyfriend
Current Location: Michigan
Favorite Disney Character: Mickey and Minnie, of course!
Favorite Disney Movie: The Lion King
How Many Trips?: This is my third, my boyfriend has been every year with his family.
On-Site or Off?: On-site
Best Disney Story: My boyfriend and I met at a mutual friend's wedding in Disney World in 2012.
What do you look forward to most on your next trip? Relaxing by the pool, checking out the new 7DMT ride, and delicious food!

We'll be at POFQ towards the end of your stay!

 

[rainydayplay]

So, as a survivor of melanoma, one would think I have a favorite sunblock. I tend to get a new brand each year--generally based on SPF and the price. Used No-Ad for years and I still love that coconut scent some have.

What is your favorite sunblock?

Have you tried the packets? Amazon has Banana Boat travel packs so I was thinking about a couple of bottles in the condo and then carry along the packets.

I also use Jergens no sun cream...Better one? I would like to have a bit of color this summer.

As a note for everyone, coupons.com currently has 2 coupons for $2 off 1 product...either 1 Bullfrog sunscreen (has bug repellant in it) or 1 Ocean Potion. At Walmart, Bullfrog is around $8 and the Ocean Potion I bought was about $6.47. You can print 2 coupons from a computer/device. (Also, Publix has Barilla pasta as a buy one get one free, and they have a coupon for $1 off 2...which means around here, pasta for $0.25...I know that's unrelated, but definitely a great buy since I am buying for a food drive I'm doing with my Girl Scouts...)

I would leave the ponchos too, but I don't want to spend another $50 on new Disney ponchos for my family... :-( I am a bit of a cheapskate.
When compressed, five ponchos don't take up that much space (about the same amount of space as a pair of pants.)

$ Store ponchos are cheap, too, and tear up easily. If you are a wear once and trash person, I'd stock up on these. If you are they type of person who likes to reuse, spending the extra $ on a poncho at Disney would be good...they are a better quality plastic and, if anything goes wrong with it, they will replace it (same with umbrellas!)

When my 15 year old was 10, she wanted her own bag too when we went places... I carried it most of the time.
Get something that will fit in your bag just in case.

I let my DD carry her own bag (and have bought her a bag to carry for this year), but it is with the understanding that, if she brings it out of the room, SHE carries it, not me. I am the family pack mule, and I do not mind carrying a backpack with essentials, but that's it. I will give her a little $ to put in her bag and hold the rest, but she will have a cross-body bag, and won't be putting tons in it. I gave her the option of a small backpack or the cross body. Now to find a wallet...

 

[PinkBudgie]

VoL is Voices of Liberty. Here's a youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BunxSQEuhb8

OH, ok. We saw them at Disneyland before the Lincoln show. They were very good!

That would have saved a lot of money... The little ones don't eat much, but the number of people add a lot of expenses.
When you add a fifth person to the room, you can no longer get a standard room. I also feel compelled to purchase the mini version of whatever I buy myself... :-(

Our boys hardly ate anything when they were little. When they got to their later teen years, I couldn't believe how much one person could eat! They are 20 now and still eat a ton.


When the boys were little, DH carried the back pack and I had a small purse. When they boys got to be around 12 or so, they took turns along with dad carrying the backpack for a length of time. And I still carried my small purse. But hey, I was in charge of the camera, the APs, and FPs!

 

[jd4nati]

We received our travel documents over the weekend. I love the luggage tags. I had no clue we would receive them so they were a nice surprise.

I am glad for those of you who posted about rain because I hadn't planned for that. One more item to add to my packing list.

We went over our touring plans one last time since we were able to get mine train fast passes. It's been nice having my daughters involved in the planning process which adds to their excitement.

I'm excited but it has been crazy at work and I'll need to take a week long trip to Nashville next week. As soon as I return I'll begin packing and then I can join in on the excitement. I'm looking forward to spending some uninterrupted quality time with my family at such a happy place!

 

[melissa5583]

I just made my final payment on our trip! I am super excited! I've never been before with kids. I have been with my parents twice, friends once, and with my husband for our honeymoon!
We are staying in the Little Mermaid rooms at AoA!
It will be my husband, parents, stepson (13), and daughter(2).
We are going June 20-June 27! It can't get here fast enough!
We were lucky enough to get FP to meet almost all the major characters (including Anna/Elsa) and the new 7DMT!

 

[MOpGrad2013]

We received our travel documents over the weekend. I love the luggage tags. I had no clue we would receive them so they were a nice surprise.

I am glad for those of you who posted about rain because I hadn't planned for that. One more item to add to my packing list.

We went over our touring plans one last time since we were able to get mine train fast passes. It's been nice having my daughters involved in the planning process which adds to their excitement.

I'm excited but it has been crazy at work and I'll need to take a week long trip to Nashville next week. As soon as I return I'll begin packing and then I can join in on the excitement. I'm looking forward to spending some uninterrupted quality time with my family at such a happy place!

If you're driving in Nashville, try to avoid the 24/65/40 interchange. Constructions been going on since dec and it's a mess. The interchange was bad enough before, but now single narrow lanes...Use the Briley Pkwy tn 155 detour.

Most downtown locations can be reached by the lower roads.

 

[Lmans77]

Name: Lara
Travel Dates (if known): June 8-14
Where Will You Be Staying?: Wilderness Lodge
Travel Party: Me, DH, DD 6 and DS 4
Current Location:Houston
Favorite Disney Character: Cinderella
Favorite Disney Movie: Tangled
How Many Trips?: 2nd as family. Me: 1 prior as a kid. DH: 3(ish) as kid/young adult
On-Site or Off?: Either!
Best Disney Story: The Magic of taking our daughter to CRT and eating in the castle.
What do you look forward to most on your next trip? Staying at WL! Last visit was to POR, but we walked through WL and were awed.

I cannot believe we are getting so close. This trip is a surprise for the kids. We are spending a day at Panama City on the way, and we plan on telling them we are going to Disney the day we drive to Orlando. Hopefully it goes well! DS has been asking to go to Disney World to see Mickey. He LOVES Mickey. The last time we went, he was 1 so he doesn't remember anything. And naturally, DD is Frozen obsessed and we got a FP to meet A&E!

 

[Anesthesia Fine]

We just got our travel package as well! I thought about fiddling with the FP reservations just to see if we could get the Mine Train, but I think we're just going to wing it; we're pretty happy with what we've got and I am worried I'll screw it up, heh. Coincidentally, we did the check-in procedure today, too, so all that's left to do is get the van in for service and start packing!

We're having a Memorial Day party, so it's nice to have something else to focus on in between now and our departure date. Otherwise I am pretty sure we'd all explode from the anticipation.

 

[2Tiggies]

I just made my final payment on our trip! I am super excited! I've never been before with kids. I have been with my parents twice, friends once, and with my husband for our honeymoon!
We are staying in the Little Mermaid rooms at AoA!
It will be my husband, parents, stepson (13), and daughter(2).
We are going June 20-June 27! It can't get here fast enough!
We were lucky enough to get FP to meet almost all the major characters (including Anna/Elsa) and the new 7DMT!

I love that feeling when you make the final payment. I always say that I now official own my vacation!

You are going to really enjoy a trip with children. You do things differently; you do different things. But most of all, you get to see them notice things that you normally wouldn't have paid attention to and it gives you an entirely new perspective on it.

 

[db57me]

I love that feeling when you make the final payment. I always say that I now official own my vacation! You are going to really enjoy a trip with children. You do things differently; you do different things. But most of all, you get to see them notice things that you normally wouldn't have paid attention to and it gives you an entirely new perspective on it.

So true; we made our final payment this weekend. Next steps, shop, MagicBands, final trip material from Disney via TA, then board the plane. So close, yet...

 

[2Tiggies]

So close, yet...

Yes, I am having a sudden, severe attack of impatience for this trip, not helped by logging into MDE and seeing that I have 13 days left to settle on my final choice for our MBs for our POFQ (first resort) stay. It suddenly felt so real!

 

[db57me]

Yes, I am having a sudden, severe attack of impatience for this trip, not helped by logging into MDE and seeing that I have 13 days left to settle on my final choice for our MBs for our POFQ (first resort) stay. It suddenly felt so real!

I should be Happy, with the vacation all paid, and only 47 days to go. However, I was Grumpy all day. Of course, as a high school teacher dealing with teenage spring fever, end-of-year attitudes, and "it's cool to be Dopey" approach to school work, I'll probably be Grumpy until mid June. (7 Dwarf references intentional)

 

[Mouse3Dad]

Mouse3Dad, alexensmom, jd4nati, alayne, Anethesia_Fine, Sweetmo, jessie31383, and sedaniel! Hopefully, I spelled all of that correctly...

Which character meal are you looking most forward to? Which ones are you doing? We've done CRT (used to do it every trip, but the menu changed and has rotated all of our favorite stuff off...and there is something wrong about paying that much $$ for fried chicken...), Akershus, CM, CP, GG, 1900PF, and hitting TH on this trip!

Thought about it again, we are doing 4, with a fastpass+ for BOG (Not technically a character meal).

Outside of that we have reservations for CRT (dinner) CM (Dinner) 1900PF (Dinner) CP (Breakfast) I'm probably looking the most forward to CP.