Second chance at a Wish of a Lifetime!~Sept. 2014 ptr

[kclark9830]

Meet the Clarks! This is our second adventure in Disney World, our first staying on property, and we are E-X-C-I-T-E-D!

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First up is Katie (that’s me!) and Micheal (hubby). We’ve been married 11 years and going strong. My favorite character is Belle (she loves books!), and favorite park is Epcot. Hubby? He takes the fifth (he’s sorta a stick in the mud, but he’s a good sport).​

Next up are Emma and Ashlyn. Emma is oldest, and she is one strong diva, but we’ll get to that in a bit! Favorite character? Aurora, and favorite park is Hollywood Studios, though I’d bet that’s going to change.
Finally, we have Ashlyn. She was only a year old when we went before, so this time she intends to remember everything! Favorite character is Cinderella. Favorite park? To be decided!
We travel at the end of September for seven days of fun (September 20-27), and we’re traveling with my parents, two of my sisters, and one niece.​

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With this Disney trip we are getting a second chance at the wish of a lifetime. Our first trip was in 2011, and it was a Make A Wish trip for Emma (remember I said she was one strong diva?). ​

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Thanks to our Wish volunteers, we were at least slightly prepared for the craziness that is Disney—that is, they gave us a guidebook so we wouldn’t be completely lost. Other than that, though, we were clueless! While I realized there were character meals, it never computed that WE could do that. I had never heard of the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, and forget checking out the available restaurants! We did stumble upon ONE character meet and greet (as you can see), but we totally found it by accident!

This time around, we’re going in with a plan of attack! Ten people, seven days, six character meals, four parks, and one fabulous vacation!​

Part 2: Planning the trip
Part 3: Making Dining Reservations
Part 4: Disney Pinterest Board, and Getting in Shape
Part 5: Daily Itinerary
Part 6: Fast Pass +
Part 7: Disney Shopping List
Part 8: Eating Gluten Free at WDW
Part 9: Magic Bands
Part 10: Changes? Sheesh!
Part 11: A Disney Craft - Autograph books
Part 12: Magic Bands and BOG!

 

[kclark9830]

So, we’re going back to Disney! The beginnings of this trip basically started as soon as we got home from the first one. I knew I wanted to go back. Badly. My favorite park was Epcot, and I wanted to explore the World Showcase without tired and bored little people following me around, so I begged hubby to take me there for our 10 year anniversary that would be coming up in 2013.



He said yes (yay!), but eventually changed his mind (boo!).

He wanted to go to the mountains for our anniversary, so we came up with a deal. We’d go to the mountains if he’d take us back to Disney in 2014. Done!
So of course, as soon as 2014 rolled around and we did a yearly vacation budget, I announced with excitement that we could indeed do Disney. The planning started right away. I began scoping out prices. Rides. Restaurants. Policies (yes, policies!). I wanted to know anything and everything to make this the best trip ever.

In March I began making dining reservations. I got everything I wanted, except dinner at Be Our Guest, which was OK because we decided we wanted every table service meal to be a character meal (why wait in any more lines than we had to, right?).

This is by far my favorite picture from our 2011 trip, taken at Give Kids the World, and yes, Emma is crying. Hysterically.​

Next came waiting not-so-patiently for the free dining offer to be announced. I’d even signed up for the Disney Visa for the sole purpose of being notified a few days before the general public! As soon as I heard the word, I called Disney and booked that vacation! I got us a preferred room, and upgraded from the Quick Service to the Disney Dining Plan.

We will be staying at the All Star Music Resort, which sadly, we learned later, will be under refurbishment. All other value resorts are booked for the week we’ll be there, so we’re stuck. However, we are NOT going to let that ruin our fun!​

 

[kclark9830]

So, in March I began making ADR’s, or advance dining reservations. I started out not even knowing what I was looking for. Once I figured out I could set filters on the Disney website, things got a whole lot easier! I set it for Character Experiences, and the options started popping up.
Here’s what we booked!

Arrival Day: 1900 Park Fare’s Happily Ever After Dinner with Cinderella and fam

First full park day: Tusker House lunch at Animal Kingdom with Donald and crew

Second full park day: No ADR’s for this day

Third full park day: Hollywood and Vine lunch at Hollywood Studios with the Disney Junior clan

Fourth full park day: Crystal Palace dinner at Magic Kingdom with the Hundred Acre pals (yay Piglet!)

Fifth and final park day: Akershus Royal Banquet Hall lunch at Epcot with the goddesses of HEA (happily ever after)

Departure Day: 1900 Park Fare’s Supercalifragilistic Breakfast with Alice in Wonderland, the Mad hatter, Mary Poppins, and Tigger and Pooh​

 

[scholastica]

Hi! Can't wait to hear more of your plans for your trip! I can totally commiserate with having a husband who is less than enthusiastic about Disney and not being able to see Epcot. I found it to be much easier even a year later! By the way your daughters are adorable!

 

[kclark9830]

Hi! Can't wait to hear more of your plans for your trip! I can totally commiserate with having a husband who is less than enthusiastic about Disney and not being able to see Epcot. I found it to be much easier even a year later! By the way your daughters are adorable!

Thanks Scholastica! I hope to post a few more today .

 

[kclark9830]

I’ve booked my vacation…now what? Well, for me that was only the beginning! I started a Disney Pinterest board. I pinned about Disney Tips and Tricks, 120 Disney Do-Not’s, Getting in Shape for Disney, customized family tee shirts, and more! I learned that Disney gives you free water at counter service restaurants, walking 10-12 miles a day is common, and leaving your patience at home is a BAD idea (duly noted).​

My Disney Pinterest board has tons of information, and it’s a method I would highly recommend to others who are planning a Disney trip. For an idea on what to pin, you can check out Katie's Disney Pinterest board here!


But…getting in shape? That sounded…hard. I am a writer by trade, so I am mostly sitting at my computer for long hours every day. I knew what this meant for my legs during our Disney trip—misery!​

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During our 2011 trip, I would come back to our little condo every night and practically collapse in sheer exhaustion. Every morning I would have to pop several pain relievers to even make it out of bed, let alone another day in the parks. My legs and feet were SO SORE!


Trust me when I say that I knew this time had to be different. I started walking 1-2 miles a day, then revved it up to 2-3 miles, then 3-4 miles, and I am currently at 5 miles a day. I started five months in advance, but really this plan could work at any point in your planning. Got six weeks to go? Start walking! Three weeks? Start walking!​

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Granted, it’s been summer. When school resumes things will get a bit more hectic. But for now, I’m keeping pace and hoping to not be miserable while I’m at Disney! And I was reminded about the need for this just by browsing Pinterest!​

 

[kclark9830]

Disney, how I love thee, let me count the ways…

Now it was time to decide which days we were going to which park. Thanks to my nifty Pinterest board, I had read tons of tips on finding the best days at each park. I knew that the park with Extra Magic Hours each day would be the busiest, and that Mondays were bad at Magic Kingdom.

Unfortunately, since we were travelling with other family members, we had to compromise. My sister and her hubby wanted to do all the extra magic hours, and I didn’t want to do any. Our final compromise was that we wouldn’t do any EMH, but we’d go to Magic Kingdom on the Monday of our trip, because it would have the longest hours for that park during our stay.

Our final travel itinerary looks like this:​

Arrive on Saturday: hang out at the pool, then have dinner at the Grand Floridian’s 1900 Park Fare with Cinderella and the Tremaines.

Sunday: our first park day, at Animal Kingdom; lunch at Tusker House with Donald’s Safari crew. I’m looking forward to the Festival of the Lion King, which we didn’t see before, and riding Kali River Rapids (I like water rides) and Dinosaur, neither or which we did in 2011. AK closes at 7pm on this night, so once we leave we’ll be heading for Down Town Disney, to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique (this may change, as I’m actually still trying to get reservations for the BBB at MK).

Monday: our second park day, at Magic Kingdom; no dining reservations planned, just the hope of getting a Be Our Guest FP for lunch. We plan to do Fantasyland and Tomorrowland on this day, as well as the Electrical Parade and Wishes fireworks. I am most looking forward to Enchanted Tales with Belle, because she’s my fave! But the girls are most looking forward to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which we have FP+’s for.

Tuesday: our third park day, at Hollywood Studios; we have lunch ressies at Hollywood and Vine at 11:15, shortly after we get out of the 9:40 showing of Disney Junior Live. Our girls are huge DJ fans, and Disney Junior Live is something they enjoyed on our last trip. We’re looking forward to doing it again, with lunch with the characters to follow. We’re also looking forward to Star Tours, and the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground. And I’m not going to lie, I’m looking forward to seeing Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage!





Wednesday is our fourth park day, and our second time at Magic Kingdom: the girls are most looking forward to meeting Anna and Elsa from Frozen, which we somehow scored FP+’s for! Besides meeting them, we plan on doing Adventureland, Frontierland, and Liberty Square on this day. I can’t wait to ride the Haunted Mansion, since we didn’t do that in 2011. We have dinner reservations at the Crystal Palace with the Hundred Acre Woods pals. I love Piglet!

Thursday: Epcot day, and our last day in the parks. I love Epcot, and since my parents are along for this trip, I’m hoping they’ll watch the girls while hubby and I do a little exploring around World Showcase. I also cannot wait to ride Soarin’ (we got FP+’s). I wanted to ride it so badly in 2011, but we didn’t. Honestly, we didn’t ride all that much on that trip! We’re also eating lunch at Akershus where we’ll meet some princesses. The fair ladies are a huge hit in my household, so this is a big deal! The girls are also excited to do the Agent P adventure. Or maybe I’m the one who’s excited for that (Phineas and Ferb are so clever)!

Friday: departure day. This makes me sad! We will eat breakfast at the Grand Floridian’s 1900 Park Fare, with Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter, Tigger, and Pooh. The Supercalifragilistic breakfast sounds super! Then, we’ll be hitting the road for the 10 hour drive home.​

 

[kclark9830]

The thought of choosing (and getting) FP+’s filled me with anxiety for months. I checked out lists online, made my own lists, crossed my fingers, and prayed! I knew that my Fast Pass window would open up at 12 eastern, which meant I could get online at 11pm, since I am in central.

As soon as 11pm rolled around, I hit my refresh button and was welcomed into the new and confusing world of FP+. My first attraction on the agenda was the dreaded Anna and Elsa FP. We will be going to Magic Kingdom twice during our visit, and while I’d heard to check the last day first, I really wanted that first day!

No luck.

Onto the second MK day, and low and behold the sisters had FP’s available from 7:30-8:30pm. I snatched them up for everyone in my party. Hooray! My girls would be thrilled, and even hubby was proud of me.
Next I went on to book the rest of the passes for everyone in my family.

Here’s what our plans look like:

Sunday at Animal Kingdom: Kilimanjaro Safaris 9:35-10:35, Festival of the Lion King 12:50-1:20, Kali River Rapids 2:00-3:00



Monday at Magic Kingdom: 7DMT 9:30-10:30, Enchanted Tales with Belle 10:50-11:50, Peter Pan’s Flight 1:35-2:35

Tuesday at Hollywood Studios: Disney Junior Live 9:20-9:35, Star Tours 10:15-11:15, Toy Story Mania 1:35-2:35

Wednesday at Magic Kingdom: Splash Mountain 12:40-1:40, 7DMT 5:20-6:20, Anna and Elsa M&G 7:30-8:30

Thursday at Epcot: Soarin’ 9:25-10:25, Maelstrom 1:10-2:10, Nemo ride 4:25-5:25​

 

[kclark9830]

Disney shopping. Does it get any better than that? I have a whole list of items I’ve been buying over the last few months. New clothes, a double stroller, and other accessories all make up the list of purchases. I'm sure I'll be adding more, but here’s what we’ve bought so far!



• Hats (I got each of my girls a new Disney cap, and myself a pink visor)
• New clothes! (I got all new breezy shirts for me because we’re going in September, and it will be HOT! Then I got matching Disney wear for my girls, and some new outfits for hubby)
• Sit N Stand stroller (yes, my kids are 8 & 4, but they are both small and fall well under the 100lb limit on the Sit N Stand stroller. Besides, Emma was on chemo for 3 years, and she’s a bit of a weakling!)
• Frogg Toggs! (I was very excited after reading about these, so I quickly snatched a few up to keep cool in the Florida heat)
• New tennis shoes (we each got a pair and have been breaking them in)
• Disney movies (we’ve bought some of the classics that my kids had never seen, such as Honey, I Shrunk the Kids)
• Glow sticks and other toys (I want to save money in the parks, so I bought glow sticks for each night, as well as Disney toys to give my girls each day)
• Travel entertainment (we have a 10 hour drive, so I bought a few things like dry erase boards, magnets & cookie sheets, etc.)​

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Hi Katie!!! I thought I would come in and follow along!! We are going in September as well. You didn't mention your dates, though! Your girls are adorable and just the perfect age to enjoy this trip! Mine little girl is now 16 and still loves it! I'm now following you on Pintrest and anxious to read more of your plans!!!

 

[kclark9830]

Thanks Victoria'sMom! Oops! You're right, I never gave my dates!!! I will rectify the situation .

 

[RooRach0906]

Your girls are so adorable! Your trip sounds like such a blast! Glad you are getting a second chance at the fun!

 

[kclark9830]

Thanks RooRach! We cannot wait to be on our way.

 

[kclark9830]

My youngest daughter, Ashlyn, is gluten intolerant. We figured this out earlier in the year. She was having daily belly aches where she'd curl up and just cry. Her little belly would be as hard as a rock!

After reading several articles (by chance) about gluten intolerance, I talked to her pediatrician and he encouraged me to put her on a gluten free diet for two weeks. We did it, and the difference was immediate! No more gluten for Ashlyn.

I was really worried about going to Disney, and figured I'd just be bringing a lot of food for her. On a whim, I searched Pinterest for eating GF at Disney. Low and behold, I found out that Disney provides some GF options! I was so excited, and I immediately called Disney to ask how I could get in on this. They added a dietary note to each of our ADR's. Hooray!

Disney just got a whole lot more magical. ​

 

[MrsAyres]

Checking in and will be following along!

You have a beautiful family and I can't wait to read more about your adventures. I'm so glad to hear that you were able to figure out what was causing your little one's discomfort and that Disney can accommodate her dietary needs!

 

[kclark9830]

Thanks, MrsAyres!

 

[kclark9830]

Two big things have happened since my last post.

#1 I paid off the Disney vacay! Hooray!

#2 I got this email. Can you say Squeeee???!!!!!


If you can't read that, it says "We're ready to ship your MagicBands".

It's getting real! I was actually just thinking about MagicBands before I received the email. You see, I'm hearing rumors about the Frozen Summer at Hollywood Studios being extended until the end of September. My girls are huge Frozen fans, so this would be great news for us. Because of that, I was thinking I wanted some of those Frozen MB's I'd been seeing. Regardless, I guess we'll be passing on the Frozen MB's. My girls won't even know they missed them .

I'm off to make a list of things I still need to buy for the trip (like Bayer Back and Body pain reliever, which is the only meds that take my headaches away, and I always get a headache on vacation)...​

 

[kclark9830]

Disney threw us for a loop when they announced the extension of the Frozen events at Hollywood Studios! So I scrambled to change around Hollywood and Vine reservations (which never came to fruition), then FP+'d the Frozen sing-a-long once that was announced. Overall, I think I've put together a decent itinerary for us to see the 11 o'clock parade and the sing-a-long!

In fact, I've put together an itinerary for each day...even though I'm NOT telling hubby this . He says I'm stressing him out with all my planning, but I've assured him he'll thank me later.

We are 33 days out, seven days out from being able to make our Be Our Guest lunch FP's, and hopefully about that long from receiving our Magic Bands in the mail! I've seen a bunch of pics of people decorating their MB's with glittery nail polish. I like this idea, and think I'm going to give it a try. Any advice is welcome .

My daughters have a Cinderella costume and an Ariel costume, and they're each trying to decide when to wear them. We have one meal with Cindy at 1900 Park Fare, so that's in the running for the Cinderella costume. The Ariel costume is in mermaid form, so while we have ressies at Akershus and will see Ariel, this doesn't interest DD's because Ariel will be in human form. I suppose we'll end up packing it in the park bag on one of our Magic Kingdom days for when we meet her at her Grotto!

That is it for now. I'm refraining from starting my packing this early. Thankfully, I have school starting back to occupy my thinking (that, and I had a root canal this morning. Ouch! ).

 

[RooRach0906]

Good job handling the changes. I didn't even know about the Frozen sing a long fastpasses.

It is always good to have an itinerary I always have one but don't tell DH about it. It normally goes out the window when we arrive.

I am doing the temporary tattoo thing with DD magic band and I am doing just glow in the dark nail polish on mine.

I think it is a good idea to pack the Ariel Dress for Ariel's Grotto.

By the way thanks for reminding me about calling for allergy, my sister has a corn allergy.

 

[kclark9830]

Ooooh! Temporary tattoo! I didn't think of that. Great idea, and I saw some Disney princess tats at the $$$ store (my girls are huge princess fans, so this would be awesome for them). Thanks for the idea!!