O'hana means family, and family means another DW trip (9/2014)

[mamamaleficent]

Hi welcome to my first pre-trip report (so don't flog me if I mess up).

Introductions​

Christine(this is me):I am the planner of our group. I have been to DW 6 times and stayed on property 3 times(CBR,CSR,ASMu). Fav. Rides:TOT,TSM, and Carousel of Progress.Fav. restaurant: O'hana and Akershus. Fav. CharacterTigger and Maleficent (of course)
Nancy(my mom):She puts up with my crazy Disney obsession because she loves the convenience of Disney and to see her kids/grandkids happy. Fav. Ride: Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted MansionFavorite Restaurant: O'hana and Crystal Palace Fav. Character:Mickey

Melissa(my sister):Her first time to stay on property was our last visit in May 2013 and she loved it.Fav. RideTOT and Splash MountainFav. Restaurant:1900 Park Fare(dinner) and Garden Grill Fav. Charcter: Goofy

Kaitlyn(my niece): This trip is a surprise for her. She will be celebrating her 7th Birthday on the second day of our trip. It has been so hard to keep our secret because she is usually my little helper when it comes to planning. She has been on 2 other trips (one at age 3 and one at age 5). Fav. Ride: Mt.Everest and Mad Hatter Teacups(she hates Splash Mountain)Fav. Restraunt:O'hana (she LOVES the Bacon) Fav. Character: Ariel and Elsa
Makenna(my 1yo daughter):
She will be turning 2 just a few weeks after Disney but we will still celebrate her big day here as well. Her first trip was last year when she was just 7 months and she LOVED it. She was a great baby the whole trip and besides a little cold and cough she had, she was awesome. Fav. Ride:it's a small world and Finding Nemo Fav. Restaurant: anything with characters Fav. Character: She loves all things Disney JR but really loves Mickey


Next up...Our plan of action

 

[mamamaleficent]

(I double posted so to fix my error here a few pics of the girls most recently)

Makenna


Kaitlyn

 

[mamamaleficent]

The Plan of Action​

When: September 22-28,2014
Where: We will be in the Lion King Family suites. We discovered after our last trip that we need space. All 5 us were way to cramped in the regular ASMu room and by the end of the week we were about ready to kill each other (well my sister and I).
I am so excited about staying here!!! AND it's FREE DINING!!
What(details):(we upraded from the QS dining plan to the regular DDP so we could have TS meals)

September 22- We are hoping to book our flights to arrive in Disney before noon so that we can check in and get to DTD before 2pm. We love to eat at Wolf Gang Puck Express so we will probably eat there and then either walk around a little and shop or go back to the hotel to swim.

September 23- (Kaitlyn's Birthday) This will be our MK day. It is also MNSSHP day so we are looking forward to getting our tickets for this. When I asked Kaitlyn hypothetically where she would like to eat at if she were at Disney for her birthday she said Chef Mickey's. Of course they have no reservations open for that night but I did get us booked at Crystal Palace(Winnie the Pooh and Friends) at 3:20. This will allow us to have food in our tummy but not interrupt our MNSSHP fun. We are still trying to decide on costumes, so more to come on this front. And just for fun here is a pic of Kaitlyn at Crystal Palace from her first trip in 2011(she was 3).


FP+: Space Mountain, Peter Pan, and Seven Dwarfs (not sure on these)

September 24- HS day. We have reservations for an 11am Hollywood and Vine (never eaten here). I made it a little later since the MNSSHP is the night before and I didn't know how late we would be up. This year I REFUSE to miss Fantasmic. It is my fav. night show and it has been a few years since I saw it last. FP+: TSM and Rock n' Rollercoaster

September 25- Epcot Day. The only thing we have planned is a 4pm dinner at Coral Reef(this is also new for us). FP+:Test Track and Maelstrom(?)

September 26- MK Day 2. This is also a MNSSHP night but we will be leaving the park at 7pm this time . We made the coveted Chef Mickey's for 8pm this night so we can take our time exploring the Contemporary and then enjoy a nice dinner with the Fab 5. FP+: Anna and Elsa, Jungle Cruise, and Big Thunder Mountain

September 27- AK Day. We have plans for dinner at Whispering Canyon for 525pm since the park closes at 5pm. I have heard great things about this restaurant and am looking forward to a non character meal that has some flare. FP+: Kilimanjaro Safari and Mt.Everest

September 28- Our departure day... We will probably book flights for as late as we can so we can enjoy our last day. Maybe swim in the pools and the resort before we have to get on the ME.

 

[mamamaleficent]

Lion King Movie Night

Menu:
*Hyena Meat and Veggies (Pot roast with potatoes, carrots and celery)
*Rafiki's Walking Sticks (Green Beans)
*Dirt and Worms (chocolate pudding, oreos and sour worms)
*Jungle Juice (pink lemonade)

Activity:
We made Lions. I cut out small circles using the bottom of a big plastic cup, then used the top of the cup to cut out bigger circles. We taped them together. Drew faces on them and then cut the mane.

My printer ran out of ink so I did not get to do as much as I wanted. Then I couldn't find the original Lion King movie so we had a choice between Lion King 2 or Lion King 1 and 1/2. Kaitlyn choose Lion King 2 and we really enjoyed it. It was a fun night and I can't wait for our next Disney Movie and Dinner Night.

 

[mamamaleficent]

Kaitlyn had an early release day on Friday and we had 4 free tickets to Six Flags. My mom and sister were unable to go and we had to use the tickets by Sunday, so I took the kids alone. This kinda worked out great as a little trial run for how Makenna might do in September. Since only Kaitlyn and I needed a ticket we gave our 2 extra tickets to a man in line with his 2 teenage kids (trying to earn some good karma for my trip).We were only there from 12-4, because we had plans for later that night. The girls both did really good and we all had a great time, but by the end of the day Makenna was cranky and definitely needed a nap. Our trip will be the first time for Kaitlyn with out a stroller and she did great the whole time at SixFlags. She did whine later that night about her legs hurting, but nothing a little tylenol couldn't fix. Makenna loved the Carousel and the line was short so we went on it twice.
Makenna was not a fan of Sylvester but Kaitlyn always is.

The only ride Makenna was not to fond of was the Scooby Doo ride. (It is very similar to Buzz Lightyear ride) The laser gun thingy was really really loud and I honestly can't remember if the Buzz Lightyear ride is that loud. We rode a few other rides and had an over all very nice time. Makenna was kind of done by the time we got to the train (we always save this for last), but she atleast cheesed it up for the camera.


Tomorrow night is our movie night and we are going to watch Frozen!!!! My mom has never seen it (sounds impossible, I know) and I could really use a night of sing alongs and good food.

 

[mamamaleficent]

Frozen
Menu
Elsa's Water(Blue Kool-aid)

Troll Rocks(Meat Balls)&Olaf Pilaf(rice)

Build a Snowman(marshmallows and pretzels)&Snow Balls(powdered donuts)

Activity
We made snow flakes or should I say we attempted to make snow flakes. Apparently my sister and I missed the making snowflakes day in kinder because we totally sucked(hence the no pic).

My mom enjoyed the movie but said it was only okay. Makenna however has been singing "Let it Go" all week. She can only say Gooooo but it is so cute when she tries to sing along.

Coming up: Pics from Mulan movie night and exciting changes to our plans

 

[mamamaleficent]

When we left off we had just had a Frozen Movie night and I had some exciting new changes to our plans...

Well my Aunt Susan (one of my mom's younger sisters), her daughters Megan and Jennifer, and her grandson Aiden(4) are all going to be joining us for a few days during our trip. Since they only wanted to do Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom I had to switch a few of my plans around. They will be staying at ASSports. I have also finished making our fast pass selections and I think I am finally satisfied with our dining reservations even though it is not exactly what I wanted. So here is what I have so far:
Monday:
Our flight arrives around 3:30pm so I imagine we will be at our resort by 4:30 and then we are going to check in and go to DTD. We will then eat lunch at WGPX and do a little retail therapy If we are not exhausted by the time we get back to the hotel we will take a late night swim and then head to bed for an early start.
Tuesday:
Kaitlyn's Birthday!!! MK day
9-10am- Tinkerbell FP+ (we will probably head to A&E at rope drop then back to Tinkerbell and Talking Mickey)
10-11 We have split FP+ for Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain so we will rider swap and get double FP for those.
Nap time in afternoon for Makenna and I.
3:00 parade and then 3:25 ADR at Crystal Palace
530-630 Seven Dwarf Mine Train FP+
The park closes early for MNSSHP so we will head back to the resort for a snack and swimming.
The in between times will be spent just allowing the B-day girl to do whatever she wants.
Wednesday:
Arrive at Epcot for Rope Drop
9:00-10:00 Split FP selections for Test Track and Soarin and then Rider Swap each.
11-12 Maelstrom
12pm Coral Reef ADR (I don't like seafood but I am looking forward to the atmosphere)
1-2pm Mickey and gang at Character Spot
Then head back for naps and surprise my sister and Kaitlyn with the arrival of my aunt, cousins and Aiden. Probably go for a swim at AoA(our hotel) and then head back to the parks for our EMH at Epcot.
645pm La Hacienda de San Angel for dinner and watch Illuminations.
9-11pm ride any rides that we missed during the day.
Thursday:
730am Cape May Cafe Breakfast
930am meet everyone for FPs on Buzz Lightyear
1040-1140am FPs together at Splash Mountain
2-3pm we have split our party so my aunt and her family will go ride Seven Dwarfs using our Magic Bands while we use theirs to ride Barnstormer. Since they couldn't get FPs for the Mine Train.
Makenna and I will probably head back for our daily nap and rest and then come back around 6 to enjoy the rest of the evening with everyone.
9pm Wishes and MSEP
Friday: AK and MNSSHP in the evening
9-10am Kilimajaro Safari FP as group
11am FP for Lion King.(I know we probably don't need it and can use it somewhere else but we wanted to guarantee ourselves we would see it since most of us haven't seen it, we figured this would work)
12-1pm Expedition Everest FP (hoping Aiden will be tall enough)
3:20 Tusker House Reservation and then head back to the hotels to get ready for MNSSHP!!!
We are going to dress up as Snow White(Kaitlyn),The Prince(Aiden), and the Seven Dwarfs.
I am a little worried about not getting a nap in for Makenna but she can nap in the stroller. I may regret this decision, but I guess we will find out.
Saturday:
HS day My Aunt and her family leave this day and board the ME around 3pm. We are going to try to meet them before they leave at their hotel and maybe eat breakfast or something with them. Then we will head to HS.
10-11am FP for ToT
11am lunch at Hollywood and Vine
1-2pm Star Tours FP
3-4pm Toy Story Mania
Then Fantasmic
*If they extend the Frozen stuff then this will throw off all of my plans but would make me extremely happy!!
Sunday:
Our departure day Our flight leaves at 3pm so we will have to board ME around 12 which means we will probably just have an early lunch and explore the rest of AoA and POP.

I am sure, true to all of my well thought out plans, that this will change again but I am really looking forward to such an amazing vacation filled with LOTS of FUN and SURPRISES!!!