Our 2nd Trip to Disney! Did it Measure Up? (w/pics) **THE END**

[carissanboys]

As I anxiously await our 2nd trip to Disney, I figure it’s time to attempt a pre-trip report. Perhaps it will bore the heck out of everyone, or worse, cause some controversial debate over such topics as big kids in strollers, or the ever popular onsite vs. offsite. But, wherever it leads, it will at least keep me occupied during the next month and a half .

I have read many-a (yes, that is a word) trip reports here at the disboards. I love reading about all of the preparations that go into a person’s trip. Trip reports give me ideas, tips, things-not-to-do, and with the really good ones, transport me to Disney World for a short time .

Before I introduce you to my gang, here is a quick cheat list for all of you that might want to simply read the PTR without having to scroll through all of the extra comments and such.

1) Where to Stay?
2) How Ya Gettin' There?
3) Tickets and Will They Have a Pirate and Princess Party?
4) ADR's and Our Schedule
5) Disney Accessories (A.K.A. The Fun Toys!)
6) Will She Reveal Herself? Stay Tuned...
7) Ahhh...Not Sure? (You mean she has more to say?!)
8) Year of a Million Dreams and Pin Trading
9) Must Do Attractions This Time Around
10) Any Requests? (She's Taking Requests Now?!)
11) What to Pack for Clothes
12) Books, Books, and Yes, More Books
13) A Lil' Sumpin', Sumpin'
14) Some Disney Fun
15) A Family Poll
16) Josie the Kitten - Check!
17) I Have Trippie Envy
18) Bits and Pieces
19) Food!!!! (Did Someone Say Food?!)
20) A Quick Update
21) A Special Disney/Christmas Treat
22) She Wants to Get a What?!
23) Check Out Our Countdown Calendar
24) The Magic of Disney Animation
25) Driving Tips
26) It's That Time of Year
27) Ouch!
28) Where Do We Stand?
29) Uh Oh! What's Missing?
30) 9 Days and Counting!!
31) LGMH
32) Packing, Strollers, and Scary Rides, Oh My!
33) How Much Did You Say?!
34) Let's Get Organized!
35) Houston, We Have Binder
36) Can You Handle Change?
37) 1st Trip Pictures
38) 1st Trip Continued
39) Last Batch
40) Packing Lists -- Things for the Van
41) Question
42) Packing the Overnight Backpacks
43) Help! I've Lost My Marbles
44) More Revealing
45) Join Us!
46) The Big Ol' Duffel Bags Packing List
47) List of Things to Do
48) More Salty Bits and Pieces (Or Chatty Kathy)
49) Josie the Kitten Heads to Disney World
50) Miscellaneous Packing List
51) Help Me Decide
52) I'm a REAL Photographer Now!
53) Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!
54) We're Doing It!!
55) Is There A Chance?
56) Itinerary Update
57) Calgon, Take Us To Disney!
58) My Boys Have the Best Teachers!
59) Winter Wonderland
60) This Is It!
61) And the Drama Begins
62) We're Home

And now for the TR!!

1) A Few Things Before We Begin
2) Day 1 - Our Adventure Begins
3) Day 2 - Part 1 (We Almost Get Caught in a Tornado)
4) Day 2 - Part 2
5) Day 2 - Part 3 (we finally get to the tornado part)
6) Missing Disney
7) And It Begins
8) The Parents' Cheer Up Call
9) Day 3 - Part 1
10) Where's Chuck?
11) Day 3 - Part 2
12) Sci Fi Rating
13) Day 3 - Part 3
14) Day 3 - Part 4
15) Day 4 - Part 1
16) Day 4 - Part 2
17) Day 4 - Part 3
18) Day 4 - Part 4
19) Pecos Bill's Rating
20) Day 5 - Part 1
21) Earl of Sandwich Rating
22) Day 5 - Part 2
23) Hoop Dee Doo Rating
24) Day 6
25) Day 7 - Part 1
26) Day 7 - Part 2
27) Day 7 - Part 3
28) Day 7 - Part 4
29) Day 7 - Part 5
30) Raglan Road Rating
31) Day 8
32) Day 9 - Part 1
33) Day 9 - Part 2
34) Day 10
35) Final Thoughts
36) Photopass Pictures

The cast:

Me ~ (33) I’m a stay-at-home-mom who is also a full-time student taking classes online. My passions are travel, reading travelogues, planning trips, etc. You get the idea. I like to pretend I’m elsewhere . Since our last trip to Disney World, I took a short weekend trip to Lexington, Virginia with a good friend and I took a solo trip to Southeast Alaska.

**Disclosure** You will not see many pictures of me in this trip report (who am I kidding? you probably won't see ANY).

Dh ~ (34) He is active duty Navy and a cryptologic technician to be more specific. He makes the money to fund my travel obsession and puts up with my craziness. He loves World of Warcraft (as do I, although I don’t find as much time to play as he does) and painting models for Warhammer. He initially wasn’t that excited when I planned our first trip to Disney, but when the countdown began, he was like a little kid! Don’t let him fool ya

Here's dh and the boys at The Rainforest Cafe (patio) in Downtown Disney.

DS7 ~ (7.5) My oldest is a very special kid. He is Mr. Social and can carry on a conversation with any adult (or kid). He’s very strong-willed and questions us constantly, but I figure that will serve him well when he’s older, right? Someone please tell me that’s right! He’s my thrill seeker and rode with me on Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad on our first trip in March. He loves Donald Duck.

DS7 in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Playset


DS5 ~ (5.5) My middle son is my “easy” one. He’s a very easy going kid and just goes with the flow. He loves to learn, loves to be happy, and loves to cuddle . He started kindergarten this year, but got moved up to first grade because he’s such a smart-ie. He tends to get motion sick and doesn’t like the “scary” rides. His favorite is Goofy.

DS5 - taken at the Rainforest Cafe (patio)


DS3 ~ (3.5) What can I say about my youngest? He came out feisty and hasn’t changed much Dh and I always say thank goodness he’s so cute because that’s his saving grace. He’s very much a boy and loves cars and trucks and loves to follow his big brothers. He has some potty issues that may come into play on the trip (more about that later...aren't you anxious for that?).

DS3 - This gives you an idea of his "personality". This is him lying down on the ground in the World Showcase simply because he didn't want to do what we asked.

And here's the cuteness factor I alluded to.


Pepere & Memere ~ (59? & 50) My dad is known as Pepere (French Canadian thing…I’m from Maine) and my stepmother is Memere. My parents divorced when I was 5 and my dad remarried pretty much right away. My stepmother has raised me and has been much more of a mother than my own mom . I’m very close to my parents. I convinced them to join us on our first Disney trip in March and to their surprise, they had a blast. They thanked me for making them get off their butts and go with us. I think I enjoyed watching them more than I did my own kids! When I told them we were thinking about a return trip to Disney, my dad immediately said, “Count us in!” before I even had a chance to invite them . Both of my parents work a ton and haven’t traveled much in their lives, so this is really good for them. We live in Maryland and they still live in Maine so we only see each other a few times a year.

So, as I said, we took our first trip to Disney in March (2007). It was very well planned thanks to my friend Liz (liznboys) and the disboard! We had a great time. Here are a few pictures from that trip:

We knew immediately that we wanted to return to Disney World, but we did not think it would be happening before even a year was up! Before this year, we homeschooled our oldest, so taking a vacation was easy to plan. This year we decided to put both older boys in public school (Mama needed a sanity break!) so picking a date that would work for us as a family (meaning not crazy busy and not hot), but would allow for the fewest days of school missed was a bit tricky (Should we throw in a "Take kids out of school for vacation" debate in here to spice things up? Whatcha think?). Lucky for us, our boys get the week of Martin Luther King Jr. Day off, except for two half days. And January would be great for us as we are not sun/heat lovers by any means (we lived in the Outback in Australia for 3 years and hardly left our house during the summer months) and even the beginning of March was a bit too hot at times. However, it meant our trip would happen before tax return money (which is what funds our trips), but we’ll work it out. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

Up next...Where to Stay?

 

[carissanboys]

Where to stay this time around?

I should start by saying that last time we stayed at Shades of Green (SOG from now on) and we really loved it. You really can't beat it for the price. Here's a few pictures from our last trip:

The view from our first room

The room got trashed pretty much right away, but you get the idea.

In the lobby of SOG

Playing with the remote control boats

So, if we had such a great exprience at SOG, why aren't we staying there again? We had adjoining rooms with my parents during our stay, and while it was nice, I began reading (here at the dis of course!) about people staying in rental homes for cheaper and with more space. I did some investigating and was amazed at what I found. I spent a few days searching and searching through all of the different places out there. I really wanted a townhome that had a Disney feel to it. I eventually found a wonderful place at Windsor Hills. It has all of the things I wanted (splash pool, disney theme, wi-fi, gaming device for the boys, and a big plus is the HD flat screen TV ). I'll share more of the details about where we're staying once we return (you know, safety and all). I'm most looking forward to having more space and not having to go to sleep at the same time the boys do (although, if I remember correctly, I was so tired at the end of the day, I was pretty much ready when they were!). We'll also have a full kitchen to cook in and I will be placing an order through Garden Grocer.

So, our dates are picked, and our house is reserved with deposit.


Up Next...How ya gettin' there?

 

[carissanboys]

I mentioned earlier that we lived in Australia for 3 years. Does anyone know how long a flight is from the United States to Australia? Anyone? I'll give you a prize if you can guess!





























Did you guess? How many of you said 9 hours? If you did, then you were wrong! Did anyone guess 12 hours? Great! You're still wrong . It is a FIFTEEN HOUR FLIGHT ONE WAY just from California to Sydney. And after we arrived in Sydney, we still had a 3 hour flight to Alice Springs. We did this flight FOUR TIMES. The first time was with a 3 and 1 year old. The last 3 trips were with all THREE CHILDREN, one of which was the difficult child who screamed a lot of the way. Can you say ?

So, all of that to say I don't really enjoy flying with my children. Fly alone? SURE! I love it! I got to experience that pleasure when I took my trip to Alaska this past September. Layovers? Bring it on! Delays? Not a problem! But, with my three kids, even a short flight from Baltimore to Orlando is too long in my book.

Instead, I like to drive. Now, I'm sure there are many of you out there that think riding in a minivan for 2 days with three young children is a fate worse than death. But! Aha! Do YOU have a DVD player in the vehicle? Our trip to Orlando in March was quite peaceful and uneventful. The children mainly watched movies the entire way, with very little fighting. The great thing with driving is that you can take a break whenever you need, and if "the kids" do start having tantrums (*cough*DS3*cough*), you don't have to endure evil stares and death wishes from strangers! We drove to Santee, South Carolina the first day and then headed on to Florida the next. Here's a few pictures from our adventure:

DS5 and DS3 get out for some much needed leg stretches after we arrive at our hotel in Santee.

The boys run around on the field while we wait for our room to become ready.

The only rain during our entire trip was on our arrival day.

Our only difficulty on our drive was some traffic jams in Florida.

Not a great picture (hey...the van was moving!), but our first glimpse of the happiest place on earth

Since my parents live in Maine, they flew down last time, as they will do this time. Since we'll have the van, we'll pick them up from the airport on arrival day. During our last trip, they took a Mears shuttle from SOG to the airport the day they left since we were headed to Magic Kingdom for an early morning. This time, since we'll be staying offsite, we've reserved a rental car for them that we will pick up the afternoon before they fly out. That way they can drive themselves to the airport the next morning. Sounds crazy, but it's actually a lot cheaper this way. I got a price of $17.95 for a 24 hour rental through Budget. Can't beat that!

Up next...Tickets and Will They Have A Pirate & Princess Party?

 

[liznboys]

Woohoo!! This will be great!!! And FUN!!!

 

[liznboys]

So we can keep track of the days left til Mickey time...

 

[liznboys]

This cracks me up..

 

[carissanboys]

So we can keep track of the days left til Mickey time...

Awesome! You're such a smart cookie

 

[carissanboys]

This cracks me up..

LOL Me too. It kind of shows how quiet it was in the WS at that time too! There were people walking around him and then they'd look back.

 

[carissanboys]

We will be in Orlando for 5 full days and 2 half days. The dilema came as I tried to figure out how many days we'd need on our tickets. When we went to Disney in March, the Pirate and Princess Party was still a fairly new thing. Since it was our first trip, I decided to pass on it as I figured we had enough "stuff" to deal with. Looking back, I think it was a wise decision. BUT! I'd heard how good the parties were and how amazing the fireworks were. The question remained...

Would there be any Pirate and Princess Parties in 2008?

The rumors began...and grew! Then, it appeared the parties WOULD be returning in 2008. BUT! Would there be any parties happening anytime while we were there?

People began whispering about the fact that the Disney website showed the Magic Kingdom closing at 7 pm on special nights. Could this perhaps be a sign? Could this mean that the parties would be held on these nights? There was a glimmer of hope

Being the travel planner that I am, I began mapping out our days at Disney World using my Excel spreadsheet (Thanks Liz! ). I had to come up with two sets of plans using a Pirate and Princess Party-filled trip versus one without . I had to make two ADR's for the same restaurant on two different days (Being a responsible individual, I cancelled one of the reservations once I found out for sure. See....I'm a good Disney girl!). It was driving me crazy not to know what our actual plans would end up being (and not being able to order my tickets since I didn't know how many days I'd actually need).

Imagine my happiness when the dates for January 2008 were finally announced AND January 21st was on the list!!!

Now my planning dilema was solved. I quickly and easily changed my Excel spreadsheet, called the ADR line and ordered our tickets to the par-tay

Then I ordered our tickets through Under Cover Tourist (with the Mousesavers discount rate, but of course! ). I ended up getting 6 day tickets for the price of 4 day tickets. This meant I would have an extra day or two that I wasn't planning on using. But, can we let that happen? Of course not! I can't let two days at Disney go to waste! They must be squeezed in somewhere

Up Next...ADR's and Our Schedule

 

[carissanboys]

~ ADR's ~

Boma (breakfast)
Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue
Sci Fi Dine In Theater
Le Cellier
Chef Mickey's (breakfast)​

Boma is the only TS restaurant that we'll be repeating this trip. It's not because we didn't enjoy others last trip (In March, we ate at Whispering Canyon Cafe, Boma, 'Ohana, Crystal Palace, and we enjoyed them all). It's just that there's so many great ones out there to try and Boma's is a must-do-again.

I really wanted to try a dinner show and Hoop Dee Doo really seems to be the best reviewed. I also really want to see Fort Wilderness so this accomplishes both.

I know the food at the Sci Fi isn't great. And I know it's expensive. I've done my research people! But, it just sounds like a really neat place to experience and I think the boys will like it. My expectations are set low so we can't lose, right?

Le Cellier will be a dinner for just dh and I . I'm expecting the food to be great here! My parents will be watching the boys back at the townhouse and dh and I will catch Illuminations after we eat (dh, DS7, and I saw Illuminations last trip).

And, of course, we must fit in a character meal! Again, I'm not expecting the food at Chef Mickey's to be spectacular, although I think we'll be good for breakfast. It'll actually be lunch for us, but that's ok. We ended our last trip at Crystal Palace in March and I wanted to end this trip in a similar fashion.

~ Our Schedule ~

Saturday - January 19th
Head out at 4 am and drive to Savannah, Georgia

Sunday - January 20th
Get going early and head to Orlando!
Head to DS for a little while
P/U my parents at the airport/Check in at townhouse
Dinner at townhouse and get settled (Perhaps watch some TV on the Plasma Screen )

Monday - January 21st
Boma for breakfast
Naps/mini-golf
Head to MK around 4 for P & P Party

Tuesday - January 22nd
Sleep in after late night
MK in the afternoon (here I use one of the extra days on our ticket )
Take the ferry over to Fort Wilderness and Hoop Dee Doo

Wednesday - January 23rd
DS at opening
Sci Fi for lunch
Afternoon - rest at house
Evening/Dinner at DTD - Wolfgang Puck Express

Thursday - January 24th
Epcot at opening
World Showcase (lunch around the world)
Rest at townhouse
Dh and I have dinner at Le Cellier and Illuminations

Friday - January 25th
AK at opening
Lunch at Flame Tree BBQ
p/u rental car for my parents and pack
Dinner at townhouse

Saturday - January 26th
Parents head to airport
MK at opening
Lunch at Chef Mickey
Drive to Savannah ​

So, there you have our basic plan. I will come up with a more detailed agenda in the next month or so. The nice thing about returning to Disney World the second time is that I'll be much more relaxed. Last time I went there not having any idea what the layout would be like or how my plan would actually play out in reality. This time I have a good grasp of the parks. We've done most of our must-do's and can relax and enjoy the surroundings a bit more this time.

We definitely belong to the early risers club and getting to the parks at opening worked really well for us last time. We were able to get quite a bit accomplished by lunch and could head out when it started to get busy and hot. This time I'm thinking we may be able to handle being at the parks a bit later in the day simply because it won't be hot. We'll play it by ear though. I have no problem calling it a day if everyone is getting tired.

We also stick to the plain ol' tickets. No hoppers for us. It's cheaper this way and we really have no need to hop. I plan things well enough that one park a day is plenty. Maybe when the kids are older and can handle doing more in a day (although I'll be older then and I don't think I'll be able to handle more! ), but for now, our plan works for us.

Up Next...Disney Accessories (A.K.A. the Fun Toys!)

 

[carissanboys]

First, I see there's some lurkers out there. Please feel free to stop in and say "hey!". I'd love to hear from you!

Second, before I forget, I need to introduce our other family member: Josie the kitten. You may have noticed her in my signature. We adopted her in early July and she's been a great pet for our family. She loves the boys and I can usually find her sleeping on DS5's bed when I go to bed at night. The reason she fits into this pre-trip report is that I need to remember to either A) find a pet sitter or B) make a reservation at a kennel. So...there's my little post-it note! And here's a picture of our pretty girl:

So, here is where I may lose some of you. It all comes down to the Croc debate. Do you think they're ugly or do you adore them? Our short time together might end here. How do THESE make you feel?

Do they make you feel or ?

How 'bout these?

Who could be a Disney fan and not like these next babies?

Finally, these really don't look like crocs so can we agree that these are at least OK?

You still there? Phew! Look. I have a Croc addiction. But, just because you find them ugly doesn't mean we can't still be friends, right? Here . How about if I promise not to show anymore pictures of my Crocs and not spend forever talking about them in my pre-trip report? Will you still stick around?

I plan to bring along most of my Crocs, as well as my New Balance sneakers. I suffer from Plantar Fasciitis so no matter what shoes I wear at Disney, my feet are going to be hurtin'. At least I'll have a good assortment to choose from!

Anyone else have to buy a new bag every time they take a trip to Disney? This is the bag that I used the last time I went:

I got a great deal on it, thanks yet again to the disboards! It worked ok for me last time, but I really didn't think it was that comfortable to wear across my chest. It also wasn't quite roomy enough for me.

So, earlier this year, I hopped on the Baggallini train. Another good deal and another bag makes its way into my hands. This is the bag I'll be using during my upcoming trip:

There are my big toys for this trip. I was trying to find my little laminated planning book that I made and brought along for our last trip. It was pretty small and fit in my purse and just made it handy for knowing our plans for the trip as well as ADR confirmation numbers (don't leave home without 'em!). I'll have to keep searching so I can take some pictures to show you. I loved my little book and I WILL be making one for this trip as well. It's the little things in life that bring me pleasure.

Up Next...Will She Reveal Herself? Stay tuned...

 

[carissanboys]

Wow. Those last pictures came out quite large, eh? The previous pictures I saved directly from ofoto and then uploaded to photobucket, whereas the most recent ones I uploaded from my computer. Hmmm...do we like the big size or do we prefer something a tad smaller? I do try to aim to please

I said I wouldn't post many, if any, pictures of myself in this pre-trip/trip report. I'm not photogenic and I really don't like looking at pictures of myself these days. But, I was thinking. I really like to be able to picture the person that I'm reading about. Perhaps my readers would like the same. Well, really, my ONE reader/poster already knows what I look like so is it really necessary? But, just in case there's someone out there who IS reading and doesn't know what I look like, I have a couple of pictures to share with you. Keep in mind that these are a few years old. I haven't changed dramatically so it'll give you an idea. Not sure if you ran into me at Disney World that you'd recognize me, but maybe that's best

There ya go. In both pictures I'm holding DS7 (he obviously wasn't 7 at the time the pictures were taken!) so that tells you how old the photos are.

Now you can feel like you know me. Don't worry. The terror will fade in time.

Remember I mentioned that we lived in Australia for 3 years (Warning - I will probably mention this often. I miss Australia a lot )? Well, our first Disney-esque experience was at Dream World and Sea World on the Gold Coast in Australia in mid 2005. We had a great time at Dream World especially (right after we left they opened a Wiggles exhibit...dang it!) and it was a good build up to Disney World. Here's a few pictures from our trip:

DS5 (3 at the time)

I love this one!

Hey! It's Liza Thornberry!

We also were lucky enough to visit Steve Irwin's zoo (the Australia Zoo), but unfortunately, we weren't lucky enough to see Steve that day. We still had a blast though!

Oh. And just so you don't think I'm a mom that favors one child over the others, thus the reason I just mainly posted pictures of DS5. My oldest does not like his picture taken and isn't much into getting his picture taken with characters. He has a few exceptions (Spongebob), but I didn't get many of him at Dream World. DS5, on the other hand, loves getting his picture taken. And DS3 was only a year old during that trip and definitely didn't want anything to do with the characters.

Time for me to hit the hay. Hopefully I'll come up with some more ideas to post about (meaning I hope I haven't depleted all of my reserves in one day ). 'Til next time folks!

Up Next...Ahhh...Not Sure? (You mean she has more to say?!)

 

[carissanboys]

You all are so lucky this morning. You're in for a real treat. You ready?

You were really worried that I wouldn't be able to find it, weren't you? It's ok. I remembered I had posted pictures of my little handy book on one of my blogs (Yes, I have more than one blog site ). So, there you have it. Now you can rest easy.

I also wanted to share with you the shirts that I made recently for our upcoming trip. I made one for all 3 boys and my parents. I still have to make one for dh and I. I need to give credit to dh for making the template (I found a picture of the template here on the disboards and dh just drew it from sight). Problem is, after a couple of shirts, it's just too covered in paint to use again. So far he's made two templates and I was afraid to tell him that he'd need to make one more. He's a good sport though.

Up Next...Year of a Million Dreams and Pin Trading

 

[carissanboys]

On our first trip in March (and by first, I mean first trip to Disney for EVERYONE in our party), we were lucky enough to receive quite a few treats thanks to Year of a Million Dreams. The first came to my dad, DS7 and myself while we were waiting to ride Primeval Whirl. We all received YOAMD lanyards and pins. Here is a picture of DS7's now filled with other pins he's collected:

I ended up giving mine to DS5 and my dad gave his to DS3 so all three boys have them now. They've collected a few pins since our last trip and I bet Santa will be bringing some to our house at Christmas, too

Our second magical moment came when a CM gave some stickers to my boys while they were in line to enter MK. She was also waiting for us when we got through the turnstiles. She said she had noticed DS7 shared his stickers with a family behind us that we had just met while waiting in line. She said that this showed what Disney was all about and gave DS7 the Tinkerbelle pin and one to share with his "friend".

Our third and final moment came when we were at MK for our last day. DS3 wanted to ride Dumbo again. I know I may be in the minority, but Dumbo isn't my thing. Once was enough for me and the line can get so long. But, DS3 didn't request many rides so we wanted to do this for him. We got in line and had people cutting in front of us and almost left the line to move on to something else. Shortly before we got to our turn, they gave out YOAMD Fast Passes! We were a bit bummed that we missed it by so little (but we'd been so lucky this trip we couldn't be too upset). Then our turn came and they handed them out to us too! This allowed us to do a lot more rides that morning than we had planned as we had an ADR at Crystal Palace for lunch and then we were leaving WDW. And since we didn't end up using all of the Fast Passes, we gave them out to a family that was entering MK as we were leaving. That was fun!

In all honesty, those magical moments were great and we feel lucky to have had them. But, we would have been just as happy had we not received them. It was our first time in Disney World and everything was so great as it was! We're looking forward to our next trip and to see what magical moments we might encounter.

I recently purchased the Walt Disney World Guide to the Magic for Kids by Tim Foster and wrapped it up for the boys for Christmas. I'm reall excited to look through this with them and use it as we plan and actually go on our trip. I think it'll be a great momento of our trip! If you're looking for a way to get your kids excited for an upcoming trip, check out the link.

Up Next...Must Do Attractions This Time Around

 

[carissanboys]

So, here is a list of things we *must* do on this upcoming trip:

~ Magic Kingdom ~

Space Mountain (unless it's closed) - Haven't done this yet. My parents, DS7 and I all want to do this.

Buzz Lightyear - Can never get enough of this ride when you have boys!

Monster's Inc Laugh Floor - (wasn't open last time)

Winnie the Pooh - Surprisingly, this was one of my favorites!

Peter Pan's Flight - Rode this last time, but it went by so quickly and it's an attraction that has so much to see.

Mickey's Philharmagic - Loved this! And my parents only got to go on POC, Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, and Hall of Presidents on our last trip. There's a lot they *must* do this time!

Pirates of the Carribean - This one is borderline. If we have time, we'll do it again.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Same with this one.

Jungle Cruise - Would really like to try this one at night (haven't done it at all).

Aladdin - This is another maybe. We didn't do it last time because the boys didn't seem interested. We'll see how it goes.

Haunted Mansion - DS7 says he'd like to do this one and I'd like to try it as well.


~ Epcot ~

Get dh and boys and parents to try Beverly and try to snap pictures of their reactions

Test Track - I think only dh and DS7 want to do this again.

Soarin' - My parents really want to ride again.

The Circle of Life - Haven't seen it and we need to kill time before WS opens.

Living With the Land - I want my parents to see it.

Finding Nemo - I could do without this one, but I'm sure the boys will want to ride again.

WORLD SHOWCASE

Boat rides in both Norway and Mexico

Acrobat show in China

Off Kilter in Canada

Pick Your Own Pearl in Japan (I plan to have a Mother's ring made. DS5 is June, which is pearl. He's also the middle child so his will be the main part of the ring. Then both DS7 and DS3 are May, which is emerald, so I'll have two small emeralds (one on each side of the pearl). I'm very excited about this!)

Miyuki in Japan

Sergio the Juggler in Italy

See if the train is working this time in Germany

Hedge Maze in United Kingdom

And of course make the masks at the Kidcot stations if the kids are interested.


~ Disney Studios ~

Indian Jones - Didn't catch this last time and I'm sure everyone would love it.

Star Tours - probably just dh and my dad as older two boys thought it was too scary last time

Muppetvision 3D - Loved this and think my parents will love it (they didn't go to DS at all last time)

Walt Disney: One Man's Dream - haven't seen this yet

Voyage of the Little Mermaid/Beauty and the Beast - I didn't get to see any shows last time so I really want to do that this time.

Of course, we must go back to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Play area.

~ Animal Kingdom ~

Festival of the Lion King - This will be the first thing we do (or make sure we catch the first show as we didn't catch it last time).

Camp Minnie & Mickey - Same.

Finding Nemo Show - If there's time and it works out.

Dinosaur - Dh didn't get to ride last time and I think my dad would like to do it again.

Kali River Rapids - If we do this, it'll be last. We loved it last time though.

Dinoland - I'm sure we'll head back here as well.

~ Other ~

Need to try a Dole Whip or float.

Downtown Disney - The boys are going to make light sabers at Once Upon A Toy and we will get a box of Mr. Potato Head pieces. We're looking forward to this.​

I think that list is doable. Not everything on this list is stuff we HAVE to do (despite the title, "Must Do's"). The Must Do's will be at the top of the list and everything else will just be icing on the cake. We really want to take our time this time and see all of the things that we missed before. We haven't done the parades at any of the parks (with the exception of Spectro which was A-MAY-ZING!! and this from someone that isn't big into parades). The parades are always in the afternoons and we leave the parks by then. We'll have to see if any work out for us this trip.

Question for my readers (anyone? )...

What's your opinion on autographs? Take 'em or leave 'em? We only did pictures with characters and pin trading (only DS7) last time. I felt autographs would be too much to deal with. I'm more open to it this time, but still worried it will take more time and space in the bag. So...what do you think?

Up Next...Any Requests? (She's Taking Requests Now?! )

 

[carissanboys]

Here's some things I still need to figure out and would love help with.

What are we going to wear to the Pirate and Princess Party?

I don't want to do full costumes, but I'd like to get in the mood a bit. DS7 has Pirate Mickey ears so I'm sure he'll wear those. A while back I bought a Jack Sparrow costume at Target that was on clearance. DS5 can wear the handkerchief with the braids (this cracks me up!). It's kind of a crap shoot as to whether or not DS3 will wear anything. He refused to wear a costume at Halloween .

I'm thinking some Disney Princess t-shirt for myself and my stepmother. Any ideas for my dad and DH? Perhaps just Pirate shirts?

We'd really like to go play mini-golf this time. I've read that Winterland is the best one. Is this at Blizzard Beach? I just want to make sure I know exactly how to get there.

What are your favorite "off the beaten path" things to see in any of the parks? These are things one might not see unless they were wandering around or knew where to look. I want to do more than just attractions this time around. I'd love to hear your favorites!

Anyone know of any Letterboxes in the area? We're a letterboxing family and I've tried to find some around Disney World. I have found information for one in Celebration, which is cool because I've wanted to check out that place anyway. But, I'd love to hear about more


Up Next...What to Pack for Clothes?

 

[fizz13]

Hi Carissa,
Wow have you been busy! Those are some great plans you have there and I like your priorities list, mine is more like drill seargent instructions to the troops Lovin the crocs btw, a girl needs choices when it comes to sensible footwear so the more crocs the better i say.
Think your list is right, Festival of the Lion King is a do not misss every trip for me and if you didn't get to see it before then you are not allowed to leave wdw till you do ok? Also Myuki in japan is another fav, the things she can do with that candy. Make sure to get there early so your kids are up front and have the best shot at getting picked, I think we chose a grey shark and a pink unicorn, birds are great choices because of how she makes the wings fan out
Can't advise too much on party costumes. When I went in August i didn't have kids with me so I just wore my nicest princessy dress with a little tiara to get in the mood. Captain jack Sparrow seems to like it I saw lots of Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth Swann, disney princesses, prince charming and regular old pirates. And if you don't want to do the whole thing how about matching bandanas and eye patchs?
Winter Summerland is definately at Blizzard Beach, and Fantasia Golf is over at Swan Dolphin.
Anyway, keep it coming and I'll keep reading, great job! You've made me feel lazy

 

[carissanboys]

And if you don't want to do the whole thing how about matching bandanas and eye patchs?

Anyway, keep it coming and I'll keep reading, great job! You've made me feel lazy

LOL I'd LOVE to see dh and my dad in matching bandanas and eye patches !

Thanks You're not lazy. I'm just a little psycho with too much time on my hands (well, it's not like it's really free time...just time that should be spent doing something else, but nothing is as fun as planning a Disney trip ). Thanks for stopping by!

 

[carissanboys]

January seems to be a difficult time to pack for when you're heading to Disney World. It could be cold or quite warm, all in the same week! And since we're staying off property with my parents, we need all of the seats in our van. This means NOT MUCH ROOM FOR SUITCASES!

So, now I need to come up with a system of packing for all of us that will allow for the possible differences in weather, while at the same time packing as light as can be. One thing we have going for us is a washer/dryer in the townhouse . Let's face it though. How much laundry will I actually do while on vacation? I mean, come on! Clothes stay lost in our house for a long time because I never completely finish all of the laundry. Maybe some of you will know what I mean (or maybe I'm the only really lazy one out there). Clothes pile up in the laundry hamper. I take the top half off and wash and dry. But, between the time I do that load and then start another, the hamper has become full again! So the clothes on the bottom never see the light of day . I DESPISE laundry. I'm great with putting it in the washing machine, but that's about where my housekeeping duties end. Most of the time I forget that I had a load in there

Anyway, I guess when I'm on vacation I can manage to remember a load or two of laundry every couple of days. Now, what do we bring?

2 pairs of pants
1 pair of shorts (?)
2 t-shirts
2 long-sleeved shirts

What do you think of that? This is X 5 so all that stuff will add up quick. On the last trip, I used the Disboards tip of putting the kids outfits in ziploc baggies. We really liked how easy it was to get dressed in the mornings. I'll probably do that again.

Of course I'll also bring bathing suits (heated splash pool) and rain ponchos, as well as magic gloves, hats (just in case!), and sweatshirts/fleece jackets.

Man...I really need to write things down as they come tome. I was doing the dishes earlier and had some ideas of things to write about and now I'm drawing a complete blank . Oh! Just remembered one


Up Next...Books, Books, and Yes, More Books

 

[carissanboys]

What is the first thing you do when you decide you're taking a trip somewhere, whether it's Disney or not (I know, I know...it's hard to believe but some people DO actually vacation other places )? For me, it's buying a book. See, not only do I have a travel obsession, as well as a Croc addiction, my real problem is books. Hi. My name is Carissa and, ah, well...I'm a book-a-holic . I do love to read, but who has time for that when you're a mom, a student, and busy writing a pre-trip report?! My problem comes simply from BUYING the books. I love to walk into a bookstore and peruse the shelves until I find something that catches my eye . There's something about running my hand lovingly over a brand new paperback and feeling it's satiny coolness . I can imagine the possibilities that await me if I ever find the time to crack open the cover. Ahhhhhhhh

Ahem. Where was I? Ah yes. So, when I knew I was planning my first trip to Disney, I had to purchase a new book! I needed guidance. See, I recognized my inabilities even as a newbie! My good friend Liz, being the expert that she was even back then suggested Walt Disney World With Kids. And this was, indeed, a good place for me to start. I also purchased Birnbaum's Walt Disney World For Kids to help my kids get excited. They didn't know a ton about Disney back then, oh innocent ones, but this book helped get them ready.

But, then, tragedy struck (well, not really...we just changed our plans) and we didn't end up going to Disney that year (this was back in 2004). So, the books went back on the shelf to collect dust along with my many other purchases that are doomed to a lonely life simply because my life does not allow for much pleasure reading.

Then began the real, FOR SURE, 100% gonna happen Trip! In 2006 we began making concrete plans for our first trip to DW. Once again, books must be purchased! I mean, come on! New editions have been published! Things change at Disney at the drop of a hat! And there was new territory I must cover. I then proceded to purchase Birnbaum's Walt Disney World, The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World, Passporter Walt Disney World, and even Birnbaum's Walt Disney World Dining Guide! All of these books have been helpful, and the UG is by far the most comprehensive book out there, but I really enjoyed the Passporter, too. I like it's little rating charts and the fact that it's a PLANNING book. You can make check marks in it and everything!

Now you know a little secret obsession of mine. Time for you to share with me

Up Next...A Lil' Sumpin', Sumpin'