Our First Magical Family Vacation-May 2014

[anniebabymu]

We are firm believers in driving overnight when you have kiddos!! It saves sooooo much time when you're not stopping to potty every 2hours! We drive to Dallas to visit my sister, and when we drive overnight we make it in 10-10 1/2 hours... during the day it easily adds 1-1 1/2 hours to our trip!

 

[feistygalkmc]

AHHH omg...this is so weird but I was like taken by total surprise surfing the DISboards and I saw MY BOW pop up on your Pre-Trip Report...

Lol that is funny! I love it and i will be picking some bows out within the next couple months. I love etsy so much, I haven't purchased much but the things I have purchased I have got so many compliments on and I just love them also.

 

[feistygalkmc]

We are firm believers in driving overnight when you have kiddos!! It saves sooooo much time when you're not stopping to potty every 2hours! We drive to Dallas to visit my sister, and when we drive overnight we make it in 10-10 1/2 hours... during the day it easily adds 1-1 1/2 hours to our trip!

I really hope it works well for us also. I think it will, she sleeps in the car most times even if we run to the store so it seems like that is the best tip we have got so far driving wise

 

[feistygalkmc]

This trip just keeps getting more expensive! lol Last night I log into disboards doing some research on the child leash/harness, which btw, I found some really cute ones on amazon, and it occurs to me that our travel system stroller is HUGE. I am talking this thing takes up the majority of the back of our SUV. So then I have multiple windows open in no time searching for disboard reviews of a stroller I found at target forgetting what I had even came to disboards to do daily occurrence, I know. lol

Here is the stroller that I really want to purchase.

It is the Chicco Echo Stroller and its only $99.
What I like about it:
*the color! wow, they had the turquoise display in the store and it is beautiful (not that I'm partial or anything, afterall turquoise is my favorite color but the purple one.....wow love that one also)
*the price-under $100 perfect! affordable and seems to be good quality
*lightweight-our travel system stroller is kind of heavy & bulky
*reclining-this reclines all the way back from reviews I have read, so it is good for the napping toddler
*spacesaver-doesn't take a lot of room once it is folded

So after all that DH takes the stroller down from the display so we can get a closer look, immediately I started noticing the following
*doesn't seem to ride smoothly, DH could have possibly locked one of the wheels, he likes to do that to me when I don't notice
*I can't for the life of me figure out #1-how to fold this thing up and #2-once I figure out which lever to push I can't get the darn thing up!

I ended up just leaving it there I got so frustrated. Sorry Target employees.... Anway, this stroller looks great, price is great, accessories or extras are nice, but how in the heck do you fold this thing up?! I am looking for a one handed folder upper. Our travel system is this way, pop/lock or unpop/unlock depending on which way you look at it. However this thing is not practical, now I love the city mini strollers. They look great, have lots of excellent features but that price.....for a stroller.....ugh I don't really want to rent one as we do need to get a more grown up stroller for DD anyway. So I'm searching ebay, amazon and some other sites to see if I can find a great deal on one. diapers.com has it for $199 so far that is the best price. I really need to go try that Echo again, maybe if I was a little more patient, it would cooperate.

Now, lets talk shoes....for Macie
These, we want these, we is me & Macie because honestly, DH could care less about her shoes lol

I have never purchased stride rites for her before and they are EXPENSIVE. I see they are on sale right now for $39.95 and 25% off, that's great, except they don't have her size. I would really like to get her measured in store. I printed off the paper chart from their site and I think she is a size 6 with possibly a wide foot. These are just so cute! Last year we tried some flip flop type sandals on her with the strap at Walmart and she did not like it! Funniest face ever! But then again, that was before she was up walking and wasn't actively wearing shoes. I'm also waiting until they get these in store at our local stride rite, I want to see them in person before I actually purchase.

That's all for now, I have bookmarked the link to make our lunch reservations at BOG and I need to call to make a reservation (hopefully) for Macie's first haircut at the Harmony barber shop Next update, more park plans to follow!

 

[anniebabymu]

This trip just keeps getting more expensive! lol Last night I log into disboards doing some research on the child leash/harness, which btw, I found some really cute ones on amazon, and it occurs to me that our travel system stroller is HUGE. I am talking this thing takes up the majority of the back of our SUV.

I hear you about the SUV! Our first trip we borrowed my friends Sit n Stand and it worked out really well for us... a bit big, but the girls were comfy in it! So what did I do when we came back and Babies R Us had a sale? Impulsively bought one for ourselves to take on our second trip! I don't know if it was it just being us 4, and me having to wrangle both girls on my own while DH struggled with it that got to me... but I quickly realized that maybe I should have done a little more research and went with a more user friendly stroller! And the whole front/back seats makes for a REALLY fun time pushing it through the parks. And my oldest is about a pound over the weight limit which also makes pushing it fun! Oh how I wish I would have gotten a side by side like the City Mini or something.

So with all that in mind combined with how much of a PIA a huge stroller is in the airport, that the airlines really could care less about how they treat your stuff and beat it all to heck and the fact that someone almost STOLE our stroller our first day (despite it being tagged with a colorful name tag!) after CM's so politely moved our stroller without warning, I think I might try to convince my hubby to rent a City Mini for this trip. I know it's more $$ after spending all that money on the Sit n Stand, but for my sanity it might be worth it! We'll see!


Now, lets talk shoes....for Macie
These, we want these, we is me & Macie because honestly, DH could care less about her shoes lol

We as in me... love it! I think my whole PTR when I say we it really means me! Lol! And those shoes are ADORABLE!!! Did you find them online??

That's all for now, I have bookmarked the link to make our lunch reservations at BOG and I need to call to make a reservation (hopefully) for Macie's first haircut at the Harmony barber shop Next update, more park plans to follow!

I too have the site bookmarked!! Crossing my fingers! And first haircut would be priceless there!

Great update

 

[DisneyMomLJ]

I'll be there during your vacation too (I think! Depends on when this baby decides to be born!)

 

[lsenquiz]

Your stroller choice looks like a good one. We have one that looks similar (we have a Britax B-Nimble)


Britaz B-Nimble by Disneyalwaysn4ever, on Flickr

Britax B-Nimble

The thing I love about it is that it goes up to 55lbs and that the handles are really high so you do not have to hunch over to push the stroller. Believe it or not my DS9 still used it on our last trip.

The most important thing in a Disney stroller to me is that it folds quickly and easily, it is light weight, it completely reclines and it has a basket.

 

[blueangel2]

joining in...I'm another May traveler and I love reading ptr from those going around the same time as me...I think it helps with the whole waiting process. Feel free to check mine out on the the link.

 

[blueangel2]

I really like the light weight strollers. I have one by The First Years. I purchased it for my dd(now age 5) and when I learned I was pregnant with baby #2, my mom purchased another one. When deciding what stroller to bring with us, we considered our Sit and Stand, but we were worried about folding it up and the basket is really small. My kids are 5 and 15mths (ds will be 19mos at time of trip). We decided that we will take both of our light weight strollers rather than 1 large one. It will actually hold more in the baskets and we have mesh bags that hang on the side to use one as a diaper bag and one for snacks that can be folded up with the stroller for getting on and off the bus quickly.

 

[Cesarlovesdisney12]

Hello, I was just reading your pre trip report. I am a couple minutes away from you. I am in Muskogee, OK. And I will miss you by a couple of days at the World. I am going down there between May 14-20. Excited. It can not come soon enough.

 

[feistygalkmc]

I'll be there during your vacation too (I think! Depends on when this baby decides to be born!)

yay! How exciting a Disney trip AND a baby. How in the world do you have time to plan? lol I was a huge nap taker/sleeper during my pregnancy. Luckily I ended up with a calm baby

Your stroller choice looks like a good one. We have one that looks similar (we have a Britax B-Nimble)
The thing I love about it is that it goes up to 55lbs and that the handles are really high so you do not have to hunch over to push the stroller. Believe it or not my DS9 still used it on our last trip.

The most important thing in a Disney stroller to me is that it folds quickly and easily, it is light weight, it completely reclines and it has a basket.

That is exactly what I'm looking for, we are going by Target again this weekend so we can check it out to be certain it fits what we are looking for overall. I had said I didn't want to rent a stroller but I was also checking out the City Mini for rent. Then I realized for the cost of the rental fee we can just buy a newer stroller. It's time for a big girl stroller anyway now. I am beginning to really despise what I like to call our baby stroller.

joining in...I'm another May traveler and I love reading ptr from those going around the same time as me...I think it helps with the whole waiting process. Feel free to check mine out on the the link.

I will be sure to check it out this weekend! I will need some Disney reading for sure! It has been a crazy & busy week at work so I'm ready for a little escape. And May is coming up fast! So I'm excited to see everyone's plans coming together.

I really like the light weight strollers. I have one by The First Years. I purchased it for my dd(now age 5) and when I learned I was pregnant with baby #2, my mom purchased another one. When deciding what stroller to bring with us, we considered our Sit and Stand, but we were worried about folding it up and the basket is really small. My kids are 5 and 15mths (ds will be 19mos at time of trip). We decided that we will take both of our light weight strollers rather than 1 large one. It will actually hold more in the baskets and we have mesh bags that hang on the side to use one as a diaper bag and one for snacks that can be folded up with the stroller for getting on and off the bus quickly.

I was looking at the First Years Ignite also. It is very similar to the Chicco stroller from Target. I am going to see if they have one in store I can take a look at this weekend.

Hello, I was just reading your pre trip report. I am a couple minutes away from you. I am in Muskogee, OK. And I will miss you by a couple of days at the World. I am going down there between May 14-20. Excited. It can not come soon enough.

Hey neighbor! I don't see many people from Oklahoma on here! I totally agree , I am getting very excited also! I even have a # of business days until vacation countdown at work lol I think those are the HARDEST to get through for me. DD doesn't completely understand yet and DH is more interested in making me watch unboxing videos of the nest tv he wants to get.

 

[feistygalkmc]

Taxes completed and accepted-check
log into MDE and get a pop up that we can book our FPP & start to get all excited only to realize it must have just been a fluke-check
finally figure out a touring plan-check!!!

Finally I can post another update! It has been a busy week for us here. Work is busy transitioning. HOme life has been busy just with normal home life stuff. Disney life / trip planning has not been busy enough over the past week in my opinion. So after a week of looking, 'exceling' (yes It got that crazy for me ) comparing and analyzing the park hours and scouring whatever crowd predictor I can find for May I have come up with a touring plan. So here it goes....

5/4
arrival day
Epcot
{nothing too big or exciting planned this day but we have a ticket and dang it WE ARE GOING TO USE IT! If our room is ready when we arrive I plan on having lunch at Landscape of Flavors then heading to the room to unpack and possibly a nap for DD before Epcot. If the room isn't ready, still lunch and then depending on how long they anticipate the wait to be we will go to the pool or go ahead and head to the park. Just going to walk around WS and ride or see whatever attractions we can. Not planning a super late day. Just taking in the sights}

5/5
MK -AM rope drop {hopefully}
Epcot-afternoon-PM
I really wanted to do MK the first full day but who doesn't?! So I figured IF we can make RD -this is a first for me-then we can stay at MK until around noon and head over to Epcot for the afternoon/evening.

5/6
HS
DTD for lunch and browsing
MK {PM}
HS isn't a full day park for me and with a little one I'm not sure that it will be a full day for her either. Not much for her to do other than TSM or shows. And we just aren't show people. I figured we could head over to MK for the afternoon and take it easy. Then some pool time

5/7
MK
This will be a RD day for sure! Our first FULL MK day so I want to make it as special as I can for DD>

5/8
AK
DTD for snack &/or browsing
Epcot
AK is another non full day park so I figure we can head on over to DTDAnd then spend the remainder of the day at Epcot.

5/9
MK
This is our last full day at MK So again, I am going to really try to make RD.

5/10
Go home day
Checkout
MK
Since checkout is pretty early I plan to go ahead and get packed back up and out this morning. Then we will head out to MK for our last partial day in the park. Not sure we will get much done this day because I want to be back on the road at least around noon. But again, we have a ticket and we are going to use it! It's more of a saying bye bye to Mickey & Minnie day for DD. And I'm going to try to get in her more enjoyable rides this morning.

So sad it's over....really....I'm sad just sitting here typing this out! These plans aren't set in stone but they will at least give us something to follow. In the end I decided to use easy wdw crowd calendar and a bit of deductive reasoning. I know the crowd calendars aren't always accurate but after reading his description of why the park is busy each day it just makes the most sense to me. I may change a couple days around and spend some time at DTD for a while on the arrival day. Since we just booked QSDP I'm not making any specific plans on what time & where we eat. I know there are some things I want to try and some things I am dying to eat again. {I can hear the BLT from Earl's calling my name now} the only things I am going to plan on like a crazy person is...BOG Lunch! I am going to really try getting a FP here. DH is excited about that, we saw the Disney special on Food Network so he is also very interested in the Naan they make at Sanaa Luckily I just told him I think he can also get it at Landscape of Flavors lol

Before I go....has anyone else logged into MDE site and got the pop up that says you can make you FPP selections now! I got all excited thinking, ok, maybe they opened it up to more than 60 days....then I figure out nope. It's just the MDE site playing with me

Trying to figure out what I want to do with our Magic Bands is next on my mind. Right now, I have a red one, DD {who really doesn't need one} has pink and DH has green. I may change over to the pink again since it looks easiest to cover other than the grey. I really want to add some bling to mine. Anyway, hope everyone has a great week enjoying their planning, blogging, reading or whatever you do.

 

[Cesarlovesdisney12]

Yes I don't really see many people from the good ol' Oklahoma.. My DD is the same, she ask everyday to go to Disney and ride the Hunny (Winnie the pooh ride) but I tell her we are going she tells me "No we need tickets" but what can you do, just seeing the smile is all worth it. Is this your 1st time going down there? And YES, work days are the worst, I want to leave early and troll the forums everyday. LOL.

 

[PH7]

Following along! I'm also going near that time. Its getting so close I just can't stop thinking about it.lol

 

[MatoMany]

Following along as well. I love reading others plans..

As for strollers, you can imagine I have gone through a LOT of strollers over the years. I have notice that you definitely get what you pay for. Ive had 3 different umbrella type, cheap double strollers and they all broke within 6 months and my kids rarely rode in them (mine like to walk and are allowed as long as they hold hands). We then got a City Mini Double when we decided we wanted to start taking more walks as a family. Its gotten almost daily use, gone off roading, been through the beach, been on multiple road trips etc and its in almost new condition. I calculated the price for the other three and if I had just paid for it in the beginning I would have SAVED money off of what I paid for the other ones, not counting what I paid when i finally got it. So if its a bit more for what you really want you might want to consider it an investment. I wish I had looked at it this way before I spent all the money on strollers that didn't last.

For a single stroller have you looked at the Contours Light? Its 70 off of Amazon. One of my friends had it and I was surprised at how light and how well it pushed. Of course Im use to my bulky double so Im pretty sure just about any single stroller will seem light and compact to me

 

[feistygalkmc]

Yes I don't really see many people from the good ol' Oklahoma.. My DD is the same, she ask everyday to go to Disney and ride the Hunny (Winnie the pooh ride) but I tell her we are going she tells me "No we need tickets" but what can you do, just seeing the smile is all worth it. Is this your 1st time going down there? And YES, work days are the worst, I want to leave early and troll the forums everyday. LOL.

This is actually my 5th trip, DH & DD 1st trip so I'm trying to get them pumped up! lol

Following along! I'm also going near that time. Its getting so close I just can't stop thinking about it.lol

Welcome!

Following along as well. I love reading others plans..

As for strollers, you can imagine I have gone through a LOT of strollers over the years. I have notice that you definitely get what you pay for. Ive had 3 different umbrella type, cheap double strollers and they all broke within 6 months and my kids rarely rode in them (mine like to walk and are allowed as long as they hold hands). We then got a City Mini Double when we decided we wanted to start taking more walks as a family. Its gotten almost daily use, gone off roading, been through the beach, been on multiple road trips etc and its in almost new condition. I calculated the price for the other three and if I had just paid for it in the beginning I would have SAVED money off of what I paid for the other ones, not counting what I paid when i finally got it. So if its a bit more for what you really want you might want to consider it an investment. I wish I had looked at it this way before I spent all the money on strollers that didn't last.

For a single stroller have you looked at the Contours Light? Its 70 off of Amazon. One of my friends had it and I was surprised at how light and how well it pushed. Of course Im use to my bulky double so Im pretty sure just about any single stroller will seem light and compact to me

We ended up getting the Chicco Echo stroller and we love it!

 

[feistygalkmc]

61 days (that's just 45 business or 'work' days for those counting).....only 61 total days left until our Magical vacation! It's been a while since my last update and I have checked off a few things on our list.
1-Stroller- I ended up buying the Chicco Echo stroller in an atomic purple looking color. It was on sale at Target from $99.99 to $79. I found a youtube video that showed how to fold it up and I tested it out again in the store. It is really nice and I'm glad we decided on this one.

2-We have decided on getting just the camera body for the Canon SL1 that we wanted. I have the kit lens already and another lens I purchased a few years back. SO it will save us a bit by just getting the body instead of another kit lens.

3-For the camcorder we found a great package deal for around $250 at Sams. It is for the Canon Vixia (not sure of the exact model number) a bag, a memory card and maybe another thing or two.

4-I have started ordering bows from Etsy and trying to make an attempt at planning some outfits for DD. My next step is to purchase the shorts from Childrens Place I have picked out and I have found a couple of pairs of shorts at Target on sale and a really cute skort at Dillards. I have also been searching around on Etsy today (it's a snow day for us here) at the super cute pillowcase dresses. I have finalized all of the outfits for her, just need to finish picking out the bows and get those ordered and get a few extra outfits put together for accidents or just in case.

That is about it, I am SO excited that we get to book our fastpass plus choices this week. So my next order of business is to figure out what we want to book for that. Oh and we need to get that 1 night of hotel booked, I keep almost forgetting about that! Yikes! Would hate to spend the night in the car! lol Also trying to come up with an attempt at decorating our magic bands. I have some nail polish ready to go I just can't really come up with any designs. So I'm still thinking on that also.

 

[feistygalkmc]

Warning....this is LENGTHY!

We have spent the last couple of weeks crossing off things on the proverbial list. Let's just go over some of those for you now:

1-order SL1 camera
DH found a great deal on QVC with an extra lens that was worth well over the extra $200 of the cost to get just the body only AND it was on 6 easy payments!

2-Finish up adults clothes and Macie clothes
Just finished up purchasing the last of DH clothes this weekend at Gordmans, I thought I had a 20% off everything but dummy me...it was just 1 item. oh well, prices were still good on all items we bought. For the last 2-3 weeks we have had a steady stream of packages at our house and LOTS of package tracking. We will get to that later.... Found all of Macies bottoms (except 4 pair I picked up at Target) at Children's Place with a 25% off!!! My capris and tops I got from Kohls (with 30% off), Old Navy (20% off) and Torrid (buy one get one half off for couple of shirts) plus a few pairs of capris I already had to throw into the mix. I prefer capris over shorts or obviously pants or even dresses for park touring. I somehow convinced DH to purchase at least 3 pair of shorts. He still insists he will be comfortable in long pants..insert crazy face here...hello humidity! Anyway, clothes are D.O.N.E.

3-New tennis shoes purchased
This was a hard one, I had wanted the skechers go walks I tried on at shoe carnival for quite a while. In fact, I had decided those were going to be my park shoes. Love them, so comfy and I love the low profile so you aren't wearing this big honkin shoe. But.....we swung by Shoe Carnival again about a week ago and each of us look at the different athletic shoes. DH didn't find anything but I turned the corner and THERE they were. These electric blue (kind of a bluish purple neon looking color) pink and a little white Asics. I went to start shoveling through the boxes looking for my size and....they were sold out. So they had this neon orange/yellow/white pair in my size of the same shoe, I tried it on and whoa baby I loved it. SOLD! Then I glanced at the price tag and started to cry a little....$75.98. So I go home and go to the site I should be investing in due to the amount of purchases coming from my bank account lately, Amazon. There they were..but not my size. Found them on JCP website for $49.99...but not my size. Notice a pattern here? So I decided towards the end of last week the orange shoes I actually liked, just not as much as the pink/blue. They had a 25% off sale this weekend and $146 later myself and DH had a VERY nice pair of Asics for each of us. Here are mine, I told you they were bright. DD has a pair of skechers Twinkle Toes, some cute sandals and boots (to wear with her Jessie pillow case dress)

4-Vixia video camera ordered
Dh's toy, he keeps recording EVERYTHING, practicing he says of course
5-Magic Bands received and decorated.
These came together nicely. I am very pleased with how they turned out. I did think of a different design for mine at the last minute....but it was too late. Oh well, this will do. In order, DH-blue, Me-Purple with lime mickey and DD-purple with pink mickey

6-Bows Ordered
I'm not going to post pics of all of these because I don't have them and that would require me to go lay all of them out and take pictures of them. Just trust me on this they are AMAZING. We have several, Izzy,Oh Toodles, Jessie, Mrs. Potts, Pink & Blue Mickey head bow, Classic colors Mickey head bow, Evil Queen or 'Queenie' as DD knows her, Anna and an Ariel bow. Yes...folks I was going to order more, a Pink Safari bow for AK and a Jasmine bow. But it just didn't happen. I'm done with bows, moving on....

7-T shirts ordered from Jiffy Tees .com , transfers ordered from Amy Mickey and buy new printer
I picked some designs over on the dis-signers board and have been saving them for this moment. Printer was purchased t-shirts washed and ready to go, transfers came in. We printed the designs up and started making shirts. We still have a second batch to make but if you aren't sure if you want to do this or not....DO IT! Amy's Transfers are AMAZING and the t-shirts came out so well. DH was skeptical but he admitted it was an excellent idea and the shirts are great. As soon as we get the second batch of the darker colored shirts made I will post pics of them this week.

8-Ordered the rain protecting thinger for the stroller
Found and ordered the Jeep Deluxe rain poncho (forgot what it's called, it's late and I'm nuts trying to remember all of this) for our Chicco Echo and it fits perfectly!

9-Also ordered a parent 'tray' for stroller
Since the darn thing only came with one cupholder. THAT will NOT do, so I found one on my favorite site ....that's right you guessed it. AMAZON I wouldn't call it a try per se, it's not plastic but that's what they call it. I would call it more of an organizer thinger. Anyway, good enough to hold our 2 drinks plus what ever we stick in the middle.

10-Car is currently at dealership for some pre-trip work that I have no idea what it's called or for. The only thing I remember is transmission flush...and they are looking into a whine/tumbeling sound coming from the back end which we are pretty sure is a bearing. Good thing we have that comprehensive warranty... They gave us a Dodge Dart which I have affectionately named 'Darty'

11-Socks, we bought new socks. What? Doesn't everyone do this?

12-Went through toiletry aisle at Walmart. Got DH 2 shampoos and 2 for myself, a conditioner, ibuprofen, Excedrin and 2 shampoo/body wash combos for Macie.

13-FPP
Oh I love it and I hate it. I'm having reservations, I've already re-arranged the plan up there ^ once already and I am about 95% sure I'm going to do that again....but not tonight. It's late and I'm getting sleepy. More on that tomorrow night.

14-BOG FP booked!
Yeah! I got one! But I will post more on this tomorrow.

So we have been busy as little beavers around this house. All vacation items are gathered in our office/extra room that I have also affectionately nicknamed...the dumping ground The Sunday before we leave all items will be brought to the living room, sorted and put into categories and packed accordingly. ie:car snacks, clothes for adults, macie clothes etc etc WOW...I can see why my stress/tension/anxiety has been sky high. That is a LOT of stuff to organize. Never really typed it all out before. Next up, I'm going to talk about our FPP selections and why I feel the need to keep second guessing myself...one hint....Anna and Elsa, Talking Mickey, a first haircut and BOG Lunch FP. Need to get a few clear moments to wrap my head around this. Until next time!