Recovered from worst trip ever, now planning a mother-daughter trip for DD's birthday

[shordiebecka]

that all sounds good! We spent a lot of time on the trails when we went to AK. The best time to do them is early in the morning- there was literally no one on any of the trails we did! We found that getting FP's for the rides and doing them in the afternoon and doing the trails in the morning went against what everyone else was doing! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Chelley00]

as possible to keep from banging my head and it works!!

It's not the banging, it's the blood rushing to my head

The best time to do them is early in the morning- !

Thanks for the tip. We'll be sure to take one morning to do the trails first.




On again

Day 6: Epcot: Early morning breakfast at Akershus. We did this last year and really liked it. This is our World Showcase day. I'm really hoping to be able to do the Kim Possible missions with R. I plan on getting one of the movies to watch on the plane. Dinner this night is Garden Grill. I doubt this will be a late night because of our early morning ADR, so we'll see.




Day 7: Magic Kingdom. This morning we have an early breakfast at CRT. I'm still debating canceling this one because the reviews are getting worse and worse, but we enjoyed our breakfast here in 06, and loved getting in the park so early. My ideal would be getting 1900 for breakfast instead, but nothing is open

I'm REALLY hoping they'll be doing a soft opening of Space Mountain this day. R LOVES SM, and the fact that it's closed while we're there has really thrown her for a loop. It's scheduled to open on our last day, but it would be nice if it opens a little earlier.

Dinner this night is at Crystal Palace, and this is our only night to be able to see Spectro and Wishes!




Day 8: VACATION!

This is our off day. I've started a thread asking for advice about what to do this day to surprise R for her birthday.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2268350

I've thought about MVMCP, La Nouba, Pirate and Pals Fireworks Cruise etc. I really don't want to take an entire day to do something (like Seaworld or Universal) so we have some time to hang out at the resort, rent a surrey bike (R's wish) or swim. I was thinking about sending her off on a pirate cruise from GF and going to get a massage. Is that selfish of me





ETA: Finally scored 1900 Park Fare dinner (yay) I scheduled it for this night. R is going to be so thrilled since I told her I couldn't get the ADR!

 

[Chelley00]

Day 9: DHS Day 2

This is our day to hit TSM first. I also would love to head to Beaches and Cream for lunch. We'll see how that goes. Dinner this night is at Sci Fi. I'm sure R will love it, I'm a little nervous about it. We'll see how it goes.




Day 10: Second Animal Kingdom day. This morning I have Cape May scheduled for a very early breakfast. I'm really undecided about keeping it. I think we've decided to rent a car, which means it will be easier to get there. However, if we skip the car rental, we're going to cancel it. I can't imagine it will be easy to get to Cape May really early in the morning! And since we got 1900, it will take one of our TS credits and we'd have to pay for another meal OOP when we could eat breakfast in our room from our groceries. But, the pictures look cute and Minnie is usually there. Ahhhh, decisions!!


Dinner this night is one I'm excited about. Fulton's Crab House. R is a major lover of all things seafood (she's not a cheap date!) In our house you get to pick your restaurant for your birthday dinner, and R always picks Joe's Crab Shack so she can eat crab legs. I was very excited Fulton's has crab legs on their kids menu. This will also be our DTD evening so we can shop before dinner, and maybe stuff some Ghiradelli in for dessert I'm sure we'll also have some snack credits left for Goofy's!



Day 11: Last day We originally planned to leave on on day 10, but today is the day Space Mountain is supposed to open. Oh how I hope they are on schedule!!!!! R will be so disappointed if it's closed her entire birthday trip. So this morning, we are headed back to MK for rope drop, and dashing to Space Mountain to try and ride it. Our flight doesn't leave until 8pm so we'll have a good amount of time to hang around MK, go back and finish packing and maybe even taking a last minute swim before heading to MCO.




So, those are our tentative plans. The decisions still left are:


1. What to do on our free day?

2. Rental car, DME, towncar?

3. Cancel or keep Cape May breakfast before Animal Kingdom?



and I need to redo my packing list as the first one I made out was when we were planning to drive. I need to do some serious scaling down!!!

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

OOOOPS! I thought I subbed...actually I am sure I did, but it wasn't showing?? So, I am subbed for sure now! Anyway, plans look good. Cape May is good! My suggestion for a birthday surprise is the Family Magic Tour in MK. It does require park admission though. There is a great surprise at the end. I don't want to spoil it for those that have never done it and would like to. But, if you wantto know what it is, pm me and I can tell you if you don't already know! Anyway, can't wait for more!

 

[02AggieGirl]

R is a roller coaster fan. And her big thing to do today is to make me ride RNR.

I hope my daughters turn out to be roller coaster fans! The oldest one is almost 6 and is TERRIFIED of Goofy's Barnstormer in Toontown! Oh, well....


Day 10: Second Animal Kingdom day. This morning I have Cape May scheduled for a very early breakfast. I'm really undecided about keeping it. I think we've decided to rent a car, which means it will be easier to get there. However, if we skip the car rental, we're going to cancel it. I can't imagine it will be easy to get to Cape May really early in the morning! And since we got 1900, it will take one of our TS credits and we'd have to pay for another meal OOP when we could eat breakfast in our room from our groceries. But, the pictures look cute and Minnie is usually there. Ahhhh, decisions!!

Yay! I'm so glad you got 1900!!! I LOVED the characters when we went. They were great! Did you keep CRT then?

 

[Chelley00]

My suggestion for a birthday surprise is the Family Magic Tour in MK.

I did think about the Family Magic Tour, but I really want to find something we can do on our off day since we have one day without admission (we have 11 days and only a 10 day ticket) I may keep it in mind for an MK day since we have 3 days for MK.

Yay! I'm so glad you got 1900!!! I LOVED the characters when we went. They were great! Did you keep CRT then?

I did keep CRT just for the early entry to MK. (and I love the blueberry French Toast!) I'm so happy I got 1900, and I haven't told R yet. The only place she knows for sure we are going in Chef Mickeys.





So, I'm still here and still researching away. R has had some "issues" with her behavior lately, and I threatened to cancel her trip. Apparently she realized I wasn't fooling around, and the last couple of days she's been back to her normal self. I'm not sure if she was just tired from school starting back up, or just going through a snotty phase, but it won't fly here


I've been looking on ebay/etsy to have a shirt or two made for R for her trip. I found one person who makes incredible Minnie dressed in princess stuff. I may have to go with one of those! She already has a shirt that says "Birthday Girl" for one day.

I ordered a headphone splitter and 2 new sets of headphones for R and I to watch movies on the laptop on the plane. Yay for Best Buy giftcards! Now I need to pick out a couple of movies. I'm really thinking of picking up a Kim Possible movie since I don't think R has really ever seen any episodes. Then the Kim Possible missions at Epcot might make a little more sense to her.

Still need to decide on our off day activity. I really want to go to Universal, but R isn't buying it. The Mummy ride scared her, and she knows that's all I'll want to ride With R's love of animals, I thought about Sea World, but I really want the day to relax and swim (and do laundry) and just do something that evening. I'm debating now between MVMCP or La Nouba. Reading how crowded MVMCP gets, we may head towards La Nouba.


Okay, so today is my day off (yay for Fridays off!) and DH is finally out of the shower to watch littlest DS, so I'm off to the grocery store.

Have a great day!

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

I bet if you check with the resort they will have activities planned that you and DD could take part in??!!

 

[shordiebecka]

Seaworld has awesome night time shows! When we went there, they were heavily advertising them..they have fireworks and a light.water show with shamu. Maybe you could relax in the morning/early afternoon, do laundry, then head to seaworld for night? Just a thought!

 

[dreamer423]

I'm with you with the behavior. That's why i invented the Disney-o-meter. LOL. An immediate corrector of behavior!


As for your "free" day-Seaworld is a nice change, but not relaxing. Universal ha one side-I forget- that has simpsons, jimmy neutron, shrek-that marco likes. Also-Blizzard Beach is nice. Not 100% relaxing-but a few hours is tons of fun.

And finally-this year we're going to Blue Man group for a change. Kids seem to love it as well as La Nouba.

Whatever you choose-I'm sure it'll be fab!

 

[02AggieGirl]

I'm with you with the behavior. That's why i invented the Disney-o-meter. LOL. An immediate corrector of behavior!

Haha! Hey good idea!!


I did keep CRT just for the early entry to MK. (and I love the blueberry French Toast!) I'm so happy I got 1900, and I haven't told R yet. The only place she knows for sure we are going in Chef Mickeys.

I loved the breakfast there when we went too. And there is something magical about early entry--glad you kept that one!

I think La Nouba is a great idea! I've never been and always wanted to try it. If you have a rental car, you might could go over to Fort Wilderness Cabins and do the s'mores and movie. There is a movie schedule on allears for the month of Sept right now so you could check back in Nov to see what would be playing that night. Here's the description of it from the site: "The campfire program has no admission fee and is open to all WDW resort guests. It generally begins around 7 p.m. during the fall/winter season and 8 p.m. after the time changes in April through the summer. It is held near the Meadow Trading Post in the campfire area. The program begins with a sing-along led by a Disney CM and a marshmallow roast around two campfire rings. You may bring your own marshmallows or buy them at the Chuckwagon (roasting sticks and marshmallows are $2). You may also buy pizza, hot dogs, candy, nachos, juice, popcorn, sodas, coffee, beer and other refreshments at the Chuckwagon. While this is going on, Chip and Dale make an appearance to visit with guests and sign autographs. The sing-along lasts about 40 minutes. Next, one or two Disney animated features, depending upon the season, are shown on a large outdoor screen. Seating is available in bleachers or on benches. There is also plenty of room to lay out a quilt or blanket. In the event of rain, the sing-along is still held on the porch of the Meadow Trading Post."

Of course, your idea of going to GF's spa is great too!

 

[Chelley00]

I'm thinking about making a change Yes, again.


We got a pin code. The elusive 40% pin code. With my daughter's love of animals (she wants to be a vet) I'm thinking about upgrading to AKL. We do have an entire day to explore our resort, so I'm wondering if AKL would offer more than CBR? I'm going to have to do some research. Any ideas?

 

[dreamer423]

I'm thinking about making a change Yes, again.


We got a pin code. The elusive 40% pin code. With my daughter's love of animals (she wants to be a vet) I'm thinking about upgrading to AKL. We do have an entire day to explore our resort, so I'm wondering if AKL would offer more than CBR? I'm going to have to do some research. Any ideas?

YES!!!!! AKl is great to hang out all day. they have "flamingo" feeding in the am, activities, crafts, a litte parade form the gift shop, a "Culinary tour" from Jiko and sometines Boma. A great pool. Story telling and naturalist talks at night. Not too mention all the different savannahs and the pool.

Can you tell I LOVE akl.

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Yep...AKL has daily activities...plenty to do there so you won't have to leave!

 

[02AggieGirl]

I've never stayed at AKL, but if she loves animals then I say do it!! I'm happy you received the pin code!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

You will LOVE AKL!! We stayed there last Dec and the day before the trip I went to the resort to give them my CM ID for the discount and ended up upgrading from a standard view to a savanna view for 50 bucks extra a night which was amazing. We didn't know how much we would get out of the animal view but omg, I can't tell you how amazing it was and we were able to see tons of animals at night as well, even some by sitting in the hot tub!

My former roomie in FL worked as an intern at AKL and they have a kids camp called Bush Camp that kids can do during the day and they do fun animal games and crafts. You might want to look into that for DD. You will not be upset with the switch!

 

[MrsSpratt]

HI!

I loved your first TR (but I felt SO BADLY FOR YOUR FAMILY) and I am thrilled to see a special "do-over" with your DD!

I got to spend an entire summer alone with my DM the summer I turned 8 - (no, my parents weren't divorcing) and I think it cemented our incredible bond we have to this day. Good call on the Mother/Daughter trip!

I would book AKL and NOT TELL DD. Tell her you have an ADR there, whatever - but have that be her "big" surprise.

I would also book the Pirates Cruise so you get some alone time - important for Mommies!

It all looks great, and I'm very excited for you!

Mrs. Spratt

 

[SilverL]

i would book akl and not tell dd. Tell her you have an adr there, whatever - but have that be her "big" surprise.

i agree 100%!

 

[Chelley00]

they have "flamingo" feeding in the am

Ohhh, R would LOVE this

Yep...AKL has daily activities...plenty to do there so you won't have to leave!

That's perfect. We always try to plan a day where we don't have to leave unless we go someplace that night

they have a kids camp called Bush Camp that kids can do during the day and they do fun animal games and crafts.

I read a little on allears about the camps. R would love to do any games or crafts about animals.

I got to spend an entire summer alone with my DM the summer I turned 8 - (no, my parents weren't divorcing) and I think it cemented our incredible bond we have to this day. Good call on the Mother/Daughter trip!

I'm so glad to hear that. As horrible as it sounds, R gets shoved aside sometimes since she's in the middle. The older 2 are so busy and have me running, and the little one is still young enough to NEED Mom, not just want her. I'm excited to have this one on one time with her!

i agree 100%!

Me too



Which is why I called and I booked it!!!!!


AKL savannah view for 10 nights. I'm so unbelievably excited. Our first time onsite and we get to go deluxe? I know R is going to be over the moon when she sees animals outside her room.

Only she's not going to find out until we get there. Any good ideas to help me pull off the birthday surprise?

I'd love for her not to know until we go to "look around" and then open the door for her. Think I can keep it a surprise until then??

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Why don't you tell her that you have an ADR at AKL the day of your arrival. Then, tell her that you are running late because of the airline or DME or whatever. You can say that you are just going to go right to AKL for the ressie with all your stuff and eat. Then you will go to your resort after eating. You can check in and let her think you are doing sometihng for the ADR and then tell her there is a room set up (your actual room) for you to change out of your travel clothes. Then, when you get in the room, let her in on the surprise. Just a thought???

 

[Chelley00]

Why don't you tell her that you have an ADR at AKL the day of your arrival

That's an idea! I've also thought about telling her we can't check into CBR yet (no explanation so I won't be "lying") and tell her we're going to go explore AKL since we might see animals.

I called today to try and book a Pirates and Pals cruise, and they were all booked I did find an Illuminations Cruise share though, and R and I are taking their last 2 spots. We've never seen Illuminations, so I'm excited we get to watch it this way!

I also called and got her scheduled for Pirates League today. She's such a tomboy and loves pirates, so she should really enjoy it. It's early in the morning, so I'd love for it to last through to the Illuminations cruise, but we'll see.

Other than that, I'm thinking about ordering R a shirt or two from etsy, and trying to decide if I'm going to plan anything for our free day, or if we're just going to spend the day enjoying AKL, go to dinner that night and come back to AKL to relax.

I'll have to start to panic soon, because we leave 2 MONTHS FROM TODAY!!!