OUR SPIRITED BEGINNING = Casper's Magical Journey to Disney

[PrincessMickey]

Yeah!! So glad you got the Animal Kingdomm outfits. Good thing you checked in at the post office. So happy to see Casper loving the pandas, totally made my day!!

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

ARE YOU SERIOUS!

OMG we got the most AMAZING package today, Casper was too excited to get something ACTUALLY COME TO THE DOOR that we had to open it without the older two and I am glad we did.

SUPER awesome Captain Casper of Starfleet outfit came and an equally amazing shirt for Iggy of on of his faves Peter Pan and a Rapunzel hair wig for Anastasia that she is CRAZY for. LOL Plus some awesome treats and toys. The kids were so excited.

Casper saw the outfit and kept saying "ooh ooh" and pointing he totally knows the Star Trek symbol it's hilarious.

He also LOVED the Mickey Mouse frisbee, he kept signing MICKEY so I had to share a video of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucyjEAgqdCQ

Everyone going on a trip to Disney needs to learn the sign for MICKEY right. LOL Do you think Mickey will know what Casper is doing when he sees him?

 

[hey_jude]

I am going to try to be on the DIS daily now to start figuring out the inner details of the trip, I have to learn about this FP+ thing and figure that out and then how to get to Universal and back. If anyone has any advice on all this PLEASE fire away.

Well since you asked ... We took a cab to Universal and it worked out well for us. It was easy to get one at the resort (at least at the one we were at) and we were dropped off close to the gate which seemed to be closer than the parking lots would be if you drove yourself.

I'm also reading up on the FP+ too since it's new since the last time we were there so hopefully others will have some suggestions!

Did you customize your Magic Bands yet?

Judy

 

[dianemom2]

How stinky is it that the post office hasn't been delivering your mail!!! I'd be so mad! I am glad you went to the post office to check on something else and ended up with your packages while you were there! I loved the picture of Casper in his little Panda Animal Kingdom shirt. And the video of him signing Mickey was precious. Thanks for sharing!

The How to Train Your Dragon event must have been lots of fun. I loved the first movie and I hope that the second one is just as good.

We've always had our own car so getting to Universal was never a problem. We usually would do Universal first and stay at one of the nearby hotels that offer a free shuttle service. I would imagine that a cab is probably the best way to get you there from Disney. Have you made any other plans or changes recently?

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

How stinky is it that the post office hasn't been delivering your mail!!! I'd be so mad! I am glad you went to the post office to check on something else and ended up with your packages while you were there! I loved the picture of Casper in his little Panda Animal Kingdom shirt. And the video of him signing Mickey was precious. Thanks for sharing!

The How to Train Your Dragon event must have been lots of fun. I loved the first movie and I hope that the second one is just as good.

We've always had our own car so getting to Universal was never a problem. We usually would do Universal first and stay at one of the nearby hotels that offer a free shuttle service. I would imagine that a cab is probably the best way to get you there from Disney. Have you made any other plans or changes recently?

We are also thinking that the cab seems like the best option to get to Universal.

YES so after looking again at the free dining offer and checking out some new dates we just couldn't resist the price difference in going that couple weeks later with FD.

Part of what swayed us is that we have also decided to start looking seriously into moving to Toronto to be closer to my mother in law who is now there and since we have to go for all of Casper's appointments. So having that extra $$$ in the bank would be nice.

The price difference was close to $2000 with the flights and also resort so now our trip is set for Sept 1-11 and we are staying at Caribbean Beach resort. Honestly I am not that thrilled with staying at CB since we have already been and I didn't find it really THAT magical but I am trying to convince myself that the extra $1000 over Animal Kingdom is worth it. Our last trip we stayed at CB but it was winter and REALLY REALLY cold so we didn't get to enjoy much of the resort. I also keep telling myself that we won't be spending that much time in the room so it's not like it really matters in the end.

We'll see.

Even if we did switch to AKL we would still be saving over $1000 from our original dates in Aug so it's still a savings in the end.

I've started re booking our dining and have run into some days that just don't have any availability so I am HOPING that something comes up for those.

Casper had to see the bone marrow clinic on Monday as a last minute to we stayed in Toronto over the weekend and came home yesterday on the train. I had both boys with me because Iggy didn't want to leave Casper and I and I must say I missed my hubby even though it was just one night.

Our 11th wedding anniversary is coming up in a couple weeks, June 21st, and it will be a quiet one because the 2 older kids will be visiting my parents, over 9 hours away, for the week. We haven't seen them in almost a year so that will be nice for the kids.

We're just plugging away over here.

 

[hey_jude]

The price difference was close to $2000 with the flights and also resort so now our trip is set for Sept 1-11 and we are staying at Caribbean Beach resort.

I was so excited to read this. We are staying at CBR from Aug 31 to Sept 7!

Judy

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

I was so excited to read this. We are staying at CBR from Aug 31 to Sept 7!

Judy

Oh WOW that's exciting so maybe we could meet up or at least run into each other while we are there. That would be so much fun.

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

I am a WEE bit excited that Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is going to be running while we are at Disney now.

SSo now my BIG question is should we go? Asia is NOT a scary anything type person. Honestly she gets terrified and can't stand things that I would never guess she would, Lion King is too scary for her.

It will be close to $260 for us all to go so I wouldn't want to go and have to leave like we have had to for many movies that we have tried to see.

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

I'm also SUPER excited that we are going to be there only a couple weeks before Casper's 3rd birthday. I am wondering about doing something special to celebrate like maybe a small cake and something sent to our room for when we arrive.

 

[hey_jude]

Oh WOW that's exciting so maybe we could meet up or at least run into each other while we are there. That would be so much fun.

We definitely have to figure out some way to meet up!

 

[hey_jude]

I am a WEE bit excited that Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is going to be running while we are at Disney now.

SSo now my BIG question is should we go? Asia is NOT a scary anything type person. Honestly she gets terrified and can't stand things that I would never guess she would, Lion King is too scary for her.

It will be close to $260 for us all to go so I wouldn't want to go and have to leave like we have had to for many movies that we have tried to see.

There's lots of youtube videos (look for Boo to You parade) and images that you would be able to show her to gauge how she might do. The headless horseman at the beginning of the parade or the ghost carriage at the haunted mansion might be too much for her.

You might not have to make a decision until you get there. In 2009 we went to MNSSHP on Sept 4 and I was able to buy an extra ticket the day of the party. I don't think the early Sept parties necessarily sell out.

We're going (well 3 of us - me, my oldest son and my daughter) to the Sept 1 one. It's a special treat because that's my daughter's birthday!

Judy

 

[hey_jude]

I'm also SUPER excited that we are going to be there only a couple weeks before Casper's 3rd birthday. I am wondering about doing something special to celebrate like maybe a small cake and something sent to our room for when we arrive.

Check out the Cake Chatter thread - http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2912870

if you want some ideas. Some people go pretty crazy with their cakes! I always thought the little ones were cute - maybe you could get some kind of panda theme!


Judy

 

[dianemom2]

I think you are very smart to change your dates and take advantage of the free dining. I think you will have just as good a time at Caribbean Beach as you would have had at AKL. We used to stay at the Wilderness Lodge all the time and then on our last trip we stayed at AoA. I have to say that our trip was just as nice. We like WL more and the kids liked AoA more but both were wonderful.

Make sure you tell them at check in that Casper's birthday is coming up so that he gets his birthday button. My girls got lots of Happy Birthday wishes from the cast members when we were there last summer. I am not sure about cakes??? Or the Halloween party. We've never done either. We did go to the Christmas Party at the MK one year when our girls were little. It was so much fun!

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

I think you are very smart to change your dates and take advantage of the free dining. I think you will have just as good a time at Caribbean Beach as you would have had at AKL. We used to stay at the Wilderness Lodge all the time and then on our last trip we stayed at AoA. I have to say that our trip was just as nice. We like WL more and the kids liked AoA more but both were wonderful.

Make sure you tell them at check in that Casper's birthday is coming up so that he gets his birthday button. My girls got lots of Happy Birthday wishes from the cast members when we were there last summer. I am not sure about cakes??? Or the Halloween party. We've never done either. We did go to the Christmas Party at the MK one year when our girls were little. It was so much fun!

That's a great idea to tell them. I am thinking of calling to request a certain area of CBR for our room and a ground floor room since it will be easier with Casper and his needs, so I will add his birthday info.

That thread with the cakes is INCREDIBLE, do you think they could do some sort of Small World Panda cake?

This is going to be exciting because it will be his first time he is able to eat his birthday cake, his other birthdays he wasn't able to.

 

[hey_jude]

That thread with the cakes is INCREDIBLE, do you think they could do some sort of Small World Panda cake?

Judging by what I've seen in that thread and our own experience with ordering cakes there before, I'd say they can do pretty much whatever you want (with a few exceptions like Winnie the Pooh characters). Honestly what you can get seems to only be limited by the amount that you want to spend!

This link http://disneytravelbabble.com/how-to/order-cake/by-location/ lists the resorts and the corresponding bakery info.

Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Judy

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

Hello ladies. Wow wow wow it's HOT here. It's so nice to have summer finally after our crazy long harsh winter.

I have been busy getting our dining nailed down since I had to rebook everything. The only one I wasn't able to get this time was Be Our Guest, not surprised, but I am not that upset about it because I thought the kids might enjoy lunch more anyway, I am not sure the menu is up their alley.

We have been busy with appointments in Toronto and therapy appointments. While we were at his Bone Marrow appointment we did our usual stop in to the Disney Store at the Eaton Center and he had SO MUCH FUN! We had time to kill before taking the train home and they happened to have a whole activity for kids that involved "pilot training" they built paper airplanes with the kids, gave them medals and had them race it was so much fun Casper and Iggy had a BALL. We go back next week.

Caspers pediatrician was able to read some of the preliminary results of his EEGs and we have found out that although he didn't have a seizure during the test his activity showed significant abnormalities that would cause developmental delays and seizures. His ped is pretty sure that when we see the neurologist next month he will put Casper on seizure meds since he is having 15-20+ seizures a week and we have caught many on video.

Since the heat has started we have noticed how sensitive his skin is and are hoping that moving the trip the couple weeks to Sept might mean the heat and sun are at least a little better. I am looking at Amazon and places to buy a cheaper umbrella stroller, one with a nice shade, to have shipped to the resort before we arrive so we can use it.

I haven't had a chance to call about the cake but I am going to this evening and also going to add another day to our trip so we will be there 1-11th.

Casper had a chance to wear his AMAZING Star Trek outfit today and it was SO CUTE. I just HAD to share a pic.

This weekend is our 11th wedding anniversary and the Starlight foundation is having a big event in Toronto at the harbor front with the yacht club and boating it's going to be so much fun I can't wait to see how Casper reacts to his first boat ride.

Just wanted to do a post with a little update. Oh and post a video in the next post of Casper saying his FIRST EVER phrase "LET IT GO" yup yup he's CRAZY for that song.

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

As promised I finally got the video uploaded of Casper saying "Let it go"

 

[hey_jude]

Casper is just too cute in his little Star Trek outfit and in the video!

I'd love to see your new park itinerary to see if we overlap on any days. We've always added park hoppers so we tend to hit one park during the day and end up at Epcot a lot at night for dinner since that seems to be where my family's favourite restaurants are. If you booked the same restaurants you originally had, I don't think we even have anything the same! I know for sure on the 31st when we arrive we will spend some time in MK (because it's open very late) and then the 1st is my daughter's birthday so it's an HS day followed by MK in the evening for MNSSHP. After that...we're not so sure!

I think our current weather is getting us prepped for Orlando in September!

Judy

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

Casper is just too cute in his little Star Trek outfit and in the video!

I'd love to see your new park itinerary to see if we overlap on any days. We've always added park hoppers so we tend to hit one park during the day and end up at Epcot a lot at night for dinner since that seems to be where my family's favourite restaurants are. If you booked the same restaurants you originally had, I don't think we even have anything the same! I know for sure on the 31st when we arrive we will spend some time in MK (because it's open very late) and then the 1st is my daughter's birthday so it's an HS day followed by MK in the evening for MNSSHP. After that...we're not so sure!

I think our current weather is getting us prepped for Orlando in September!

Judy

We will be getting in at 11am on the 1st. I was actually thinking of doing the MNSSHP our first evening there, possibly just not sure yet if it would be too much or not.

Otherwise we will do Epcot and hit a QS meal for dinner.

Sept 2nd is Magic Kingdom with dinner at 1900 Park fare
Sept 3rd is Animal Kingdom with dinner at BOMA
Sept 4th is Epcot with lunch at Akershus
Sept 5th is Hollywood Studios with Hollywood and Vine lunch (for Casper's Characters)
Sept 6th is Animal Kingdom
Sept 7th is Magic Kingdom Kona for dinner
Sept 8th is Epcot
Sept 9th is Hollywood Studios
Sept 10 is Magic Kingdom ending with Ohana for breakfast

As you can see I still need 3 meals in there I have Coral Reef booked and Mama Melrose for the fantasmic package but I can't decide whether to keep them or not.

We have park hoppers also and often do Epcot or Magic Kingdom in the evenings.

 

[PrincessMickey]

Loved seeing the video of Casper, he has made so much progress!! Your plans are looking good!