Pre-trip Report: Our Grand Gathering at the Wilderness Lodge: Dec 6-13 UPDATED 12/2

[erinmommyof2]

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Welcome to my pre-trip report! I decided to do this mostly as a journal for myself, but would be thrilled if anyone else wants to follow along! I've been reading the DIS for well over a year, but haven't posted much. Its been so long since I've been to WDW that I don't have much to offer!

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This trip has been under discussion for at least 3 years. Pappy (my dad) planned to take my family and my sister's family when he started to collect Social Security in 2009. Well, he was able to collect the money a little sooner, so it was decided that we would go after the youngest grandkids turned 3. We had heard for years that the second week of December was a great, uncrowded time to go, so we booked. We'l see if that holds up!!

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We will be staying at the Wilderness Lodge. My sis and I have the DDP for our families. Pappy and Nanna don't. They felt it would be too much food for them, but they will be joining us at most of our TS meals.


Here is our cast of characters:

Me - 34, the Disney planner for my family. I've been so excited for this trip, I can't believe its almost here. I am a photo enthusiast and plan on taking tons while we are there.


DH - 34. He says "just tell me where to go and I'll show up". He is also excited to be going but doesn't care at all about the preparations. We honeymooned in Disney in 1996 and stayed at the Wilderness Lodge. We visited a few times that year since DH was stationed in Orlando with the Navy. That is the last time we were there.

DS - 9 We'll call him Goofy. He is a very inquisitive kid and has a WILD imagination. He is on the shy side and is hesitant to try new things. He's been talking himself up to try BTMRR when we go. He doesn't like coasters or anything scary.


DD - 3 Let's call her Tink. That is her favorite character at the moment. She loves all the princesses and can't wait to get to Disney. The complete opposite of her brother, she is very bold and will probably ride anything she is tall enough for.

Sis - 33 She is the planner for her family. Our girls are the same age and love playing together. She is the one who told be about the DIS. I'm pretty sure that she hasn't been to Disney since Mom and Dad took us in 1993 (?)


BIL - 35 He falls into the same camp as my DH. Happy to come, but doesn't want to be involved in the planning. They have been married for 8 years and have 2 kiddos.....

Boy - 5 We'll call him Pan. Actually, we sometimes call him Pan in real life! That is his current favorite and he is often found pretending to fly and doing battle with Captain Hook. He loves all things Disney!


Girl - 3 Cinderella. Quite the diva, she is very into the princesses. She and my daughter are playmates and go to preschool together. Cindy made a beautiful Sleeping Beauty this Halloween!

All the kids at our family Halloween party.

Nanna - 60ish An amazing grandma! She is a retired teacher and does all those fun things with the kids like baking and crafts. She has been loosely involved in the planning but very interested in what we are doing.

Pappy - 64. The ringleader and financier of this trip! Also a retired teacher. He loves to travel and is always planning that next big trip. He and Nanna traveled to Iceland this summer. He also can't wait to get to Disney. He's let me and my sister handle most of the details of the trip.

Our Magical Express Tags arrived the day before Halloween and everyone was very excited. The trip is getting close!!!

Follow our journey:
ADR's
Countdown Calendar and Packing Woes
Clothing, clothing everywhere
Getting closer.
Navigating the TSA.

 

[PanandCindy'smom]

Howdy! Sis here chiming in! I will probably pop into this report to share fun tidbits from the peanut gallery.

I have to say that my family is over the moon about this trip! My children have been obsessed with Disney for the greater part of two years now and they are finally starting to put together in their little heads that this is going to really happen! We had to carefully explain to Pan how we would be getting to the World. If we use the term "fly," he thinks he will be airborn like Peter Pan. No aircraft required. Where he plans on putting his luggage, I'm not real sure. Cindy will provide us with her own fun challenges I am sure.

Here would probably be a good place to tell my parents how thankful I am for them providing us with this amazing, once in a lifetime trip. They are the most wonderful parents a kid could ask for and want nothing but for their children and grandchildren to be happy. We are sooooo lucky!

 

[erinmommyof2]

We did our ADR's way back in June. Mom and Dad are staying Club Level at the WL, so the itinerary planning office handled the reservations for us.

We decided to do as many character meals as possible since we are on the dining plan and 3 of the 4 kids are at prime age to enjoy the characters! Here's what we have booked:

12/6 Chef Mickey's 7:05pm
12/8 50's Prime Time Cafe 4:00pm
12/10 Ohana 10:10am
12/11 Askerhaus 9:05am
12/11 Garden Grill 4:00pm
12/12 Crystal Palace 9:30am
12/13 Whispering Canyon Cafe 8:35am

We chose mostly breakfasts because we have some REALLY picky eaters in our group and breakfast foods are generally enjoyed by all!!

The little girls have appointments at the DTD BBB on Wednesday afternoon. We are planning on going to the campfire at Ft. Wilderness on Wednesday night. The group will also be going on the Magical Fireworks Voyage on Friday night before we leave.

 

[PanandCindy'smom]

And don't forget the Christmas party too!

 

[PanandCindy'smom]

Well, I did a bit more trip prep today. Remember that my children are 3 and 5. Their excitement is hard to contain and we are trying to pass the time with less than 768,372 "Are we going tomorrow?"'s.

We are well stocked on Disney movies, coloring books, some games and dress up gear so I decided to maximize my resources to my advantage. Today was the birth of the "Mickey sticks" idea. I had a bunch of craft/popscicle sticks that I drew a little Mickey head on one end and wrote a Disney related activity on the other end. We have things like: watch the Little Mermaid, color a Mickey Mouse picture, play Minnie Memory, dress up as your favorite Disney character, and read from the Kids Guide to WDW . I think I came up with 25 sticks. I did repeat a few (like the reading the Kids Guide one) but was rather impressed with my creativity. I put all the finished sticks in a container and the plan is that when the kids are getting a wee bit stir crazy and need a Mickey Moment, they will get to pull a Mickey Stick and we will do whatever it says.

Our schedule tomorrow is rather full, but I think we will be able to give this a try by the end of the week. And if the weather is as crappy as they say it is going to be this weekend, we may have tried them all by Monday! Ha! Wish us luck.

 

[erinmommyof2]

The other night Tink and I put together our countdown calendar. Being only 3, she doesn't grasp 4 weeks or 30 days. Charts work better. Sis has a Cricut machine, so she cut Mickey heads out for us and we pasted them to a poster board. We're tearing off 1 a night till its time to go!

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Please overlook the line of pop cans on my counter. We have a Lab puppy who steals everything off there and the cans keep her from jumping up!!!



I'm fretting over my packing list. I hear the Florida weather in December is highly variable and we'll need a variety of clothing. Tink has out-grown almost all of her warm-weather clothing so I'm hoping its not too hot. I've been building a stock pile of super cute Disney clothes for them. Looking it over, I have way too many shirts and not nearly enough bottoms!! We are borrowing suitcases from family because we don't have any big ones. I generall pack for our car vacations by throwing stuff in plastic bags. I'm thinking that won't work on the plane!

 

[starlight_003]

Great start on your TR. Your countdown calendar looks nice. In a couple months I will get to make mine. Does you'r kids like the Wal Disney World for Kids Guide book? I was thinking about going to the bookstore to find something for my DS.

 

[PanandCindy'smom]

Great start on your TR. Your countdown calendar looks nice. In a couple months I will get to make mine. Does you'r kids like the Wal Disney World for Kids Guide book? I was thinking about going to the bookstore to find something for my DS.

So far, my kids like it. My 5 year old is really into the pages that have the maps and we talk about where each ride is. Some of the activities that it includes are a little over their heads (like make a simple touring plan) but it is not a big deal. It also helps that I found our book on super clearance at the Disney Store and scored it for $3! At that price it was worth it just to look at the pictures! Have fun planning your trip!

 

[starlight_003]

So far, my kids like it. My 5 year old is really into the pages that have the maps and we talk about where each ride is. Some of the activities that it includes are a little over their heads (like make a simple touring plan) but it is not a big deal. It also helps that I found our book on super clearance at the Disney Store and scored it for $3! At that price it was worth it just to look at the pictures! Have fun planning your trip!

I think I need to go check out that book. I have learned so much from these boards. Planning is half of the fun. I'll be waiting for your updates.

 

[erinmommyof2]

So, I've been working on those dang packing lists. Trying to plan for 4 people gives me a headache. So far I've got the kids lists done (I think) I've been collecting Disney clothing via Ebay and Disney Store clearance for about a year. I have lots of tops for Tink and a few for Goofy. He's 9 and pretty "anti-cute". I did get him to concede to a Phineas and Ferb T and a couple of Mickey items. The kids (all 4) have matching Mickey and Minnie sweaters that we are hoping they can wear to MVMCP if its not too warm. I set everything out in Tink's room to see just what I have:

The polka dot skirt at the bottom isn't Disney, but the cutest thing from the Children's Place Christmas line. Cindy has one that is opposite, red with black dots. The girls are going to wear that our first night for Chef Mickey's. The boys also have matching red Mickey polos. Should make for a pretty picture!!

Being northerners, I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around warm/hot weather in December. Thus I keep putting together northern-type outfits that will probably be too hot. From what I've read, layers will be our best bet.

 

[erinmommyof2]

We are rapidly approaching our 2-week mark and its time to put the long-talked about plans in montion. Last weekend, we celebrated Pappy's birthday. I made shirts for the kids and grandparents to take on our trip. I think everyone liked them!

On Monday, I'll send a note to Goofy's school, letting them know that he will be out for a week and ask if they will send his work. The dog already has a reservation at the cutest little boarding facility. I'm not happy about sending her, but I'm confident she will be well taken care of there. She is only 9 months old and hasn't learned a lot of doggy manners yet, so I didn't want to ask any of our older relatives to keep her.

We received an email from our travel agent saying our documents are in the mail. I'm all set to log on to Soutwest 24 hours before our flight in an attempt to get a good boarding number for our group. I'm hiding some of Tink's favorite Princess shirts so they will be clean when its time to pack the suitcases!! Everything is coming together.


Pappy and I decided that we are really happy the Florida is having this cold snap now. (Sorry to those of you who are in the World right now ) We figure this is rare weather for FL and the odds are low of it repeating itself 2 weeks from now!!

 

[PanandCindy'smom]

Just a chime in from the non list making, crazy non-organized traveler sister...We are 8 sleeps away and I am starting to freak a bit. I have nothing packed but have started a suitcase pile in the corner of my bedroom. Anything that I come across that is going (that we don't use daily) is getting thrown into that pile. So far I have 4 shirts for me, a new stick of deoderant, kid sized stretchie gloves, the kids personalized shirts. Me thinks we may need a few more things...

We have also continued with a few Mickey moments here and there. The other day we played a fun game of Minnie Mouse Memory. Cindy was cracking me up while we played. She turned over a heart and decided that getting that heart was her mission. We had to have revealed 7 other matches, but she would only ever turn over the heart and some other card that was not the heart. It may have been the longest game of memory. Ever.

I suppose I ought to get to packing something...

 

[erinmommyof2]

Wow. I don't know how frequent travelers do it. My last post-9/11 flight was to China to pick up dd in 2005, before the 1:1:3 bag-o-liquids rule. I carried an entire pharmacy in my carry-on and didn't worry about anything. Now I'm trying to figure out the answers to the following questions:

Is chapstick a gel?

Does ds's inhaler go in the baggie with my other liquids or does it go in a special "medicine" baggie?

Do I have to turn on my electronics (laptop, camera, iPod) or just pull them out of the bag?

Will there be somewhere to sit and put our shoes back on?

Should we take our coats on the plane?

Should I put some of each persons clothes in each suitcase in case one bag doesn't make it?

Now I know why we always travel by car.

Ugh.