Shhhh...Can You Keep A Secret? A SURPRISE Sept 2010 Pre-Trip Report

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Hi everyone!

Can y’all keep a secret?

This is to be a surprise trip for my kiddos and I don’t want to spill the beans to just anyone so I’m sharing my secrets with all the Disers out there willing to read along.

First up let me introduce us…

I’m Lori, a 30-something mom to two wonderful kiddos. I am a full time student who started this past June and is going into Medical Assisting. So far I really like it and am enjoying being in school again. I, of course, will be the surprise holder and trip planner of this trip. I enjoy Disney and love the magic it brings to my kids. My favorite characters are the classics…Mickey and Minnie.

Up next we have my beautiful 6 year old, Lindsey. She is little Miss Talkative but also very shy. She is currently in the 1st grade and loves this school year. Her nickname is Princess and the name fits her like a glove. The Princesses are getting to be a little babyish to her but she secretly still likes them. She absolutely loves Tinkerbelle though and can’t wait to meet her in person. Lady and the Tramp would have to be her absolute faves though.

Lindsey LOVES animals (sometimes a little too much!). This is her with my cousin's kitten, Mango.


And ending my crew is my 4 year old little man, DR. He is a mama’s boy through and through. He currently goes to preschool/daycare and we’ve had our share of separation issues but he likes it more and more each day. He has a list of characters he loves and Disney movies that he is into. Cars and Toy Story would have to be his favorite movies but character wise Mickey and Pluto are his go to guys.

This was taken at our local pumpkinfest type thing. He liked Donald the Duck pumpkin the best and wanted to pose by it


I have us booked in a preferred room at Pop Century from Friday, September 10 until Sunday, September 19. On Friday we will just do a room only and on Saturday we will start our package plan. I have us on the regular dining plan with 9 day base tickets.

Now, I am a moderate to deluxe kinda gal, but when my DD saw the pics of Pop with the HUGE Lady & Tramp I knew that would be a good place for us. I’m hoping to request the 50’s section with us looking at Lady or Tramp and be on the top floor. If free dining is offered this year though, I will probably upgrade us to either POFQ or CBR, or hey maybe I will save some money and keep us at Pop. We’ll see how it goes closer to the time free dining is announced.

We haven’t been to Disney since September 2007 and I’m really looking forward to our return. We may have some other family members join us (my dad and brother) but it depends on them and if they want to go and have the funds.

Up next...September & October movie nights and the beginning of a plan.

Hope y’all enjoy and will help me keep the secret from my kiddos!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Looking at my ticker we have a little over 10 months to go until our trip. In September I started doing Disney dinners with the kids once a month. They have no idea why I started it, they just find it a fun thing for us to do as a family one weekend.

Here on the Dis in the Family section they have a great thread regarding this and I have found a lot of great ideas from it. Here’s a link to it if you want to check it out…
Disney Family Theme Nights


For the month of September I chose Brother Bear as our movie. I had another movie planned but couldn’t find it anywhere in our house and we happened to have rented Brother Bear from the library so I just went with that. For dinner I made salmon (I cheated and bought the Gorton’s frozen kind), wild rice and we had a salad. For dessert we made s’mores. WARNING: Yes, we eat dinner in front of the TV. We have a TV in our kitchen but no DVD player with it.

Here are a few pics from our dinner…

I have no idea why Lindsey is wearing a bib and please ignore my dog, with the glowing green eyes, that is sitting there begging.

Yum! S’mores!

****************************************************

For October I chose Monster’s, Inc. for our movie night. The kids and I had a lot of fun with this and I found some really cute ‘monster’ things at Target. They weren’t necessarily from the Monster’s, Inc. movie but they had monsters on them and it was a pretty close match. I again used the thread here from the Dis to help me out some.

For dinner I made individual meatloaves and called them Boo’s Baby Meatloaves. The parsley potatoes were called Sully’s Scary Potatoes and I then added corn to the green beans to seem like eyes and called them Mike’s Green Beans. For dessert the kids made ‘door’ out of graham crackers. They coated them in icing and then added sprinkles and M&M’s for door knobs. We all enjoyed out night and the kids really enjoyed the movie since they haven’t seen it in a while.

Here are a few pics...

Our table setting

The dinner…Boo’s Baby Meatloaf, Sully’s Scary Potatoes, and Mike’s Green Beans

Our ‘Door’ Desserts

Monster DR!


Coming up…I’m crazy! I’ve already started Disney shopping! And the making of my plans…

 

[dlwharp]

Hi Lori - I'm here and subbed! I love the Disney dinners - what a GREAT idea! Thanks for sharing the photos!

 

[englishrose47]

Subing I lovethe Disney Dinners!!!

 

[lazydoxy66]

Hi Lori!!!
Awesome dinners! I think it is funny that you have a hidden agenda. It would be so hard for me to keep the secret!
The kiddos are adorable!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Hi Lori - I'm here and subbed! I love the Disney dinners - what a GREAT idea! Thanks for sharing the photos!

Hi Denise! The kids are loving the dinners as well.

Subing I lovethe Disney Dinners!!!

Hi Rosie!

Hi Lori!!!
Awesome dinners! I think it is funny that you have a hidden agenda. It would be so hard for me to keep the secret!
The kiddos are adorable!

Hi Kristal! I'm already wanting to spill the beans to the kids, but I'll try to keep it a secret for as long as I can. I won't promise anything though. It's getting to be a little more difficult than I thought. Lindsey is becoming an excellent little reader and I always have to minimize the screen when she walks in the room.

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

So, I don’t really have any plans set just yet, more of what rides we would like to do in each park and possible places we’d like to eat at.

I have a subscription to TGM and have bought the 2010 edition of Unofficial Guide to read through and help out with my planning.

Magic Kingdom:

This is from our March 2007 trip and WOW was my hair really that orange??? WTH was I doing listening to my ex-h in going that color???

I love the Magic Kingdom, as do my kids, and we will probably spend a few days there. All rides there are pretty much game for us. My big concern is can all 3 of us fit in a ride together or am I going to have to let them go by themselves or how am I going to deal with that? I have budgeted for us to do MNSSHP once, maybe twice while we are there. We did this the last time we went and had a lot of fun. The parade and fireworks are excellent!

The places we’d like to possibly eat/try at in the Magic Kingdom are:
~Columbia Harbor House
~Cosmic Ray’s
~Pinocchio Village Haus
~Crystal Palace
~Liberty Tree Tavern

When we went in Sept 2007 we ate dinner in the castle and while it was a fun experience I don’t think we’d do it again.

EPCOT:

This would have been a good pic if DR was looking.

This is a park we didn’t get to spend a lot of time in last time and I would love to be able to explore it more this time around. The kids will pretty much do all the rides there (Mission Space maybe a little hard to sell them, but if I can get them on it we’ll give it a try). I’d also like to explore Innoventions East. Is there anything in West? And of course stroll around the World Showcase exploring each pavilion. I’m thinking of maybe having the kids do the Kidcot stations or doing the Kim Possible missions. Great way for them to learn a little since they will be out of school for a week!

Places we’d like to possibly eat/try at in EPCOT:
~Electric Umbrella
~Tangierine Café
~Garden Grill
~Teppan Edo
~Tutto Italia
~Chefs de France
~Le Cellier

A few pics from our dinner in Norway:

DR's feeling up Snow White in this one.

Hollywood Studios:

I have a hard time with this park and will probably do just a half day here with the kids. Lindsey would be tall enough to ride the big rides there but not DR. I think the one I’m most looking forward to is Toy Story. I don’t know if we’ll watch Fantasmic or not.
Places we’d like to possibly eat/try at Hollywood Studios:
~50’s Primetime Café
~Sci-Fi
~Mama’s Melrose

Yeah…it’s a pretty short list!

We had lunch at Hollywood & Vine last time to see the charaters from Playhouse Disney. My kids liked it since they were into the characters but have grown out of them for the most part.

We LOVED JoJo & Goliath!

Animal Kingdom:

The only thing I can remember about this park is how HOT it was! I think this will be another half day or short day for the kids at this park. No EE for us since again, DR may be too short to ride it. And even if he wasn’t I don’t think I could get him on it. He freaks out on little kids roller coasters I couldn’t imagine what he would do on this thing.

Places we’d like to possibly eat/try at Animal Kingdom:
~Yak & Yeti is about the only place that holds some interest to me. Last time we went to Boma for dinner after being in the park and I really liked it. Maybe we’ll do it again this time.

Lindsey and my dad at Boma


So, that leaves me with Downtown Disney and other resorts to go to.

I know we’ll spend a few hours in Downtown Disney a few times during our trip and want to try the T-Rex place out. Lindsey really likes the Rainforest Café though and I’ll have to choose between which we want to do.

I’m thinking of O’hanas at the Poly for breakfast or dinner. Chef Mickey’s for sure at the Contemporary. Maybe 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian and Whispering Canyon Café at the Wilderness Lodge. I LOVE Wilderness Lodge and would go to WCC just for a trip over there.

Lunch at Chef Mickey's

Dinner at WCC


Some fun things I want to try with the kids are mini-golf at one of the courses and then also maybe a Pirate Cruise someplace for them to try out. While they do their cruise I could either do a spa service for myself or enjoy a peaceful breakfast to myself. Maybe give the Pirate's League a try for both of my kids. Or just have DR try the Pirate's League and have Lindsey do the BBB. We're definately doing MNSSHP!

Any suggestions would be great or experiences at places would be great as well. I’m sure in the next few weeks I hope to get a more detailed itinerary going. School is kicking my behind right now with a test or paper due in each of my classes until the end of the quarter. I just need to make it through November and then I’ll be done with the Fall Quarter and won’t go back until after the holidays.

Coming up: November Disney dinner, Disney shopping and more on the itinerary

 

[askelton]

Those dinners are something fun I can do when Reid comes over. Your kids are so cute!

 

[lazydoxy66]

Cute pictures!

I think the kids would love the Sci Fi. I've never eaten there but from what I've seen, it looks like loads of fun.

Everthing you've listed sounds terrific. I especially love the idea of you sending the kids on the pirate adventure and getting some time to yourself!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Those dinners are something fun I can do when Reid comes over. Your kids are so cute!

Thanks Angela. Just as long as you don't let him watch SpongeBob, right?

Cute pictures!

I think the kids would love the Sci Fi. I've never eaten there but from what I've seen, it looks like loads of fun.

Everthing you've listed sounds terrific. I especially love the idea of you sending the kids on the pirate adventure and getting some time to yourself!

Thanks Kristal!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

I was out shopping the other day at Target (I could live at that store and even on our days off my son asks, make that begs, me to take him there. I think he's as addicted to shopping as I am ). Anyways...we were at Target getting our shopping on and I stopped by the $1 spot and found some cute Mickey/Minnie items that I picked up for the kids. Probably will add them to their 'stuff to do on the airplane' bags.

I may or may not have picked up a little notebook and tin for myself.

I've been looking over TGM and the UOG book and website but haven't really planned too much out yet. The kids will be going with their father at Thanksgiving so I'm hoping that will give me some time to do some planning. Now that they switched ADR's back to 180 days I can start making them in March. To me, that seems so far away, yet will be here before I even know it. Especially since the holidays are coming up and it will go by FAST!

That's it for me for right now. I gotta run and get ready for class and get DR some lunch before we go. Thanks for reading along everyone!

 

[askelton]

How did I miss those cuties at Target yesterday? I love that you got some for yourself, which, of course, you should have.

 

[mrsksomeday]

Congrats on planning a WDW trip!! I am so happy for all of you. I love the Target stuff, they always have cute Disney things. I can't wait to read all your plans!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

How did I miss those cuties at Target yesterday? I love that you got some for yourself, which, of course, you should have.

I know...Mommy deserves some fun things for herself.

Congrats on planning a WDW trip!! I am so happy for all of you. I love the Target stuff, they always have cute Disney things. I can't wait to read all your plans!

I could LIVE at Target! And thanks Tracy...your plans were really inspiring and I'm hoping to incorporate some of what you did in for my kids.

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

My kids left on Tuesday evening to go with their dad and I've been working on some of my Disney plans. Trying to figure possible park days and places to eat.

Sometimes I feel this is so early to do this though, but really, nope. I have a little over 100 days before ADR's can be made and I know between now and then I'll probably change my mind at least 20 times. Between reading trip reports, looking at food porn and reading reviews my mind is always changing.

And speaking of changes I'm already wanting to change from Pop to POFQ. If they off Free Dining this year I'm definately doing the switch.

So, onto my plans...

Friday, 9/10
~We'll take a later flight into Orlando and then just do a room only for the night
~Dinner will be OOP at either the airport or if we can wait at Pop
~Swim time maybe done, depends on how late and tired we are, if not bedtime for all

Saturday, 9/11
~Sleeping in a bit and then late breakfast at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom. I know we'll have to re-check in and out since our package would be starting today, so I'm sure that will take some time. Hopefully a small, but it'll need to be done.
~We'll spend some time there and then head back to the resort for some rest and a possible swim
~Dinner tonight will be at 'Ohanas

Sunday, 9/12
~It looks like I have us going to the Magic Kingdom. I'm not too sure on this one though and we may go someplace else. Plus it looks like I just have us doing CS places for lunch and dinner.

Monday, 9/13
~Today will be an Epcot day. I hope to concentrate more on the rides this day. I'm thinking of doing a mid-day break and then coming back to WS later in the day for dinner and then to watch Illuminations. We didn't see that the last time and want to this time around.
~CS lunch and a TS dinner at Tepan Edo. I've been reading food reviews though and Tutto Italia is getting some good ones so I might change my mind.

Tuesday, 9/14
~Rope drop at MK in the morning. Break around 11 to head back to the resort to relax some.
~I'm hoping to do an ADR at GF Cafe for a late lunch and then have the kids go to the Wonderland Tea Party. I think this would be something Lindsey would really like to do.
~After that is over we'll head back over to the Magic Kingdom for MNSSHP and spend our evening there.

Wednesday, 9/15
~Rope drop at Epcot again. We'll do a few rides and then head over to WS for the day. I'm thinking of doing Akershus for lunch and a CS place for dinner and leaving early for a night off.

Thursday, 9/16
~Rope drop at Hollywood Studios. I can't get excited about this park. TS lunch and CS dinner in case we won't to leave early and again, have another night off to swim or head to DTD.

Friday, 9/17
~I want to do a TS breakfast this morning at Crystal Palace and then will be there for rope drop at the Magic Kingdom.
~We'll then break back at the resort for a bit and head to MNSSHP again tonight. I loved this party the last time and so did the kids. I know it will be a late night for us all.

Saturday, 9/18
~I'm hoping to book the kids on their Pirate Cruise this morning at the Grand Floridian. I'm not too sure what I'll do with my time while they are there, maybe the spa?
~Afterwards we'll spend some time at DTD for some shopping and last minute souvinor purchases.
~I have us doing Chef Mickey's for dinner and then going to the Magic Kingdom for Spectro and Wishes tonight.

Sunday, 9/19
~Our last day
~I hope to get a later flight out so we'll have some time to spend at a park before we have to go
~I want to do a breakfast at 'Ohana though since DR really likes Lilo and Stitch
~After that it will be the kids choice in where they want to go

That's it for me. We did do movie night for November but I took no pictures. What a bad mommy I am! I think I took a pic of the food I made and that's about it.

December is coming up and I'll be sure to take more then.

 

[princessbee]

I don't know how I would keep it a secret if I were you... I'd be too excited!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

I don't know how I would keep it a secret if I were you... I'd be too excited!

Hopefully I can do it!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

I'm bringing back this PTR now that the month of December is over. Between me being off of school and the kids being home I haven't had much time and we've been having some Christmas fun. Here are a few pics...

We started out month of December by decorating the tree...

We had breakfast with Santa...

Baked some cookies...

Went to Oglebay to see the Festival of Lights...

Got a new kitten! We named her Holly.

Attempted to take some Christmas pics...

Made another round of cookies and decorated them...

Put out cookies and milk for Santa's arrival...

Had a good Christmas Day...

And had a good time playing the Wii and celebrating being with family...

So, back to the PTR and getting down to business with the planning. I can make ADR is 71 days. I've been working on it these past few days and have taken a few things out and rearranged things. I'll post in another reply because I think this one is getting a little long.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a good New Year! Happy 2010!

 

[1Princess1Prince2006]

Yep, that's it I made some changes. It was bound to happen.

First, I changed our dates. I had us coming in on a Friday night (9/10) doing a room only and then our package starting the next day on Saturday (9/11-9/19). I nixed the Friday night and we will either stay in a hotel close to the airport or just drive up Saturday morning for our flight. (Which I haven't gotten yet so it depends on the times and what we do). The new dates will be from 9/11-9/19...no Friday night.

Secondly, I changed our resort. We were at Pop but I changed us to POFQ. I love the look of this resort and just really want to stay here. I know my kids won't care where we stay they will just be happy enough to be in Disney.

Last up is our park days and the free time we have. I like taking breaks in the afternoons and I know my kids won't be able to go all day, so I added some more down time and pool time in too.

Up next...new plans, starting a binder and planning clothes already???

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Just found your PTR and subbing. Our dates overlap and we're from Ohio too.

At first when you said you were taking the later flight on 9/10, I thought, hey, if they are flying out of Cleveland, we may be on the same flight! I see you changed it though to 9/11. My mom just won't fly on 9/11 which is why we're going on the 10th. I keep trying to tell her that the 11th is probably one of the safest days to fly since everyone will be on super high alert!

I love POFQ. We stayed there once and it was lovely. What I liked most was the fact that it was small. I know that sounds crazy, but it made it so much easier to get around. We also took the carriage ride from POR that year which was super fun.

I can't wait to hear the rest of your plans. I'm happy that there is someone out there like me that plans that far out...meals and all! Come and check out my PTR and let me know what you think of our choices so far.

Love your plans. Can't wait to hear more.