Summer and Serendipity ~ July PTR ~ LINK TO TRIP REPORT!!!

[tinacaplan]

OH.. that doesn't sound like a fun time. I am sorry. Do you feel better now? I hope you do!

As for work... I wouldn't worry. What could you have done? I mean... being in the ER... it kinda gives you a free pass of sort.

I'm fine...back at work and all is well! I tend to get super paranoid when I'm not there, like I did something wrong!

Sorry to hear about your migraine. Sounds like a lousy day. I would imagine everyone at work would understand, though.

Your trip is getting so close now! All those ADRs look great.

Thanks, Kate! Let's just hope that's the last one for a very, very long itme!

I know...I can't believe it myself. The ticker on my phone says TWENTY-TWO DAYS!!!

I'm pleased with the way that the ADRs turned out, myself. We'll see which ones we make it to!

Tina, so sorry to hear about your headache and visit to the ER! I do suffer from migranes myself and here is one word of warning .... I tend to get heat induced ones, so be careful out there in the July sun! Wear a hat (that's where I go wrong - I don't, but then hats give me headaches too! ) and get out of the sun ever so often!

Your trip is so awefully close! I cannot wait for you to go ....... and then time slow down for you dreadfully!
Huge on your itinerary and ressies!

Thanks, Karin! Ugh...just hadn't ever had that one bad before. The sun can get to me, too...but as long as I stay hydrated and keep sunglasses on, I don't have problems.

And thanks...hope it all works out!

Sorry to hear about your awful day I hope you are feeling better and have a low stress week at school so that you can enjoy the rest of your time before Disney.

I can't believe you only have a few weeks to go. Those weeks will fly by with everything you have planned during that time.

Max must be so excited about seeing Cars 2. Cars 2 and a Cars b-ray party? What more could a 4 year old boy need?

Your final plans look great. A nice, relaxing trip with plenty of downtime sounds fantastic after the weekend you just had.

I'm feeling better and its all winding down here at school!

I think the time will fly! Max is so excited...you can't miss all the promotions they're doing for it!

I definitely want this trip to be relaxing. We were just there and while I know we won't be back for awhile, I know we will be back pretty quickly.

 

[tinacaplan]

Well...we're only 21 days out and I'm still making adjustments to our schedule! SHOCKING...I know!i

I couldn't resist the clarion call of an empty MK and had been trying to get an ADR at Crystal Palace at 8:00 a.m.. on our scheduled MK day. No dice. I kept trying and trying...to no avail.

I decided to check out availability for CP on Friday morning...and viola! I snagged an ADR at 8:20! Not the perfect 8:05 time slot I was looking for, but we should get in pretty early and still make it into Fantasyland ahead of the regular rope drop crowd, which will allow us to not only dine with Pooh and the gang, but will mean we can accomplish most of Fantasyland before 11 a.m..

This means I will more than likely cancel our Cape May breakfast, but that's fine, too...I have some thoughts about that day brewing in the back of mind anyway!

Have a magical day everyone!

 

[glennbo123]

David Bowe.

I'm glad you got an ADR to get you into the MK early. You should be able to get a jump on Fantasyland.

 

[MEK]

to the CP ADR. I love that place. I love Eeyore! I think I like CMC a tad more in terms of ambiance, but you really can't beat breakfast in the MK.

 

[annmarieda]

on getting an early morning ADR at CP!!!!

 

[Moira222]

Hi Tina...I somehow missed far more of your updates (almost the whole thing!) even though I thought I was reading. Maybe I was reading February's??

Your plans look great and you will see from my quotes here that I started where I thought I left off, then saw I missed everything about your uncle, so I backtracked!

I am sorry to hear of your uncle - how is your cousin? I can't imagine losing a parent now (at 42) yet alone at 27.

When Max and I got home this afternoon, the first thing we did was check the mail...and look what has arrived...


Is it possible that we’re THAT close? Apparently, yes it is!

Love that Max wants to put the tags on his "luggages". I sort of miss the old tags, they were a little easier to use - the loopy things on the new ones are not very flexible.

I’d love to hear some input from people though....how do you deal with rain? What options are there outside of the parks that we might be overlooking? What touring tips do you have for a four year old?

As I read through I see that you are planning the same way I plan: hit it hard the first half, then ease up before exhaustion and crabbies catch up.

When Katie was 3 1/2, we picked everything for the first few days - it was our first trip ever. Then later in the week I had left 2 days for favorites, and we definitely let her have a day to sort of pick the rides that she loved best. We spent a LOT Of time in Fantasy land and Toon Town (I miss Toontown!) that time!

30 DAYS!!!!!


...and only eight more days of school!!! ​

really? I thought PA schools went late. You win! (or do you lose? not sure!)

N
Day two was where I ran into trouble. We want to tackle TSM as a family, but my husband is a die hard Star Wars fan and will want to hit up Star Tours. So, I'm stealing a play from Brook: I think I'll send Mark to get FPs for Star Tours while Max and I make our way to the stand-by line for TSM. Mark can meet us there, FPs in hand. After that, we'll either hit Lights Motor Action! or HISTK the playground, as I would like to use this as our "homebase" while Mark and I sneak out to Star Tours. Max will not be pleased if he knows we're riding something he can't (can you blame my short little guy?), so this will take some maneuvering on our part. I imagine that if we're able to accomplish all of this, we'll be ready to head back to the resort for some serious time at SAB.

Not sure but I think that TSM will have a longer line than Star Tours - might you want to get fast passes for TSM for all three of you and then wait in line for ST? you can do parent swap (but then Max won't be able to play in HISTK all the while. )

Saturday July 16th -- Our Second Full Disney Day
After breakfast, we’ll hit the safari, which is more or less an exact repeat of what we did at AK in February. But it worked then...I think it will work again! After that, perhaps we’ll grab FPs for Kali River Rapids, which Max is acutally tall enough for! Woo-hoo! Then we’ll head to Rafiki’s Planet Watch, which we didn’t get to do on our last trip. From there, it should be time to hit up KRR. .....
From there, we can go to FOLK or the Boneyard, depending on our timing. I definitely want to do FOLK. We such a great time there last in February and our love for that movie the its music has only deepened since then. Plus, there will be time later in the week to hit the Boneyard.

One thing that played a big part of our AK touring was the layout of the park. You are going to do a lot of backtracking here. Rafiki's train is right next to the Safari, and a good walk to KRR --- so unless you really really really love all that walking back and forth you may have to adjust. Can you convince DH to run to RKK for the FP's? saves a lot of extra walking for the whole gang (I have feet issues so this is always an issue for me, sorry if I am pushing my issue on you)

I am fine with either option, really. Because the highlight of my day...my must do on this day...will actually be at night. After much hemming and hawing and thought, I decided to go for it and make an ADR at the CALIFORNIA GRILL. This was my absolute, without a doubt, no questions, hands down BEST dining experience I’ve yet to have at Disneyworld. I will offer this one caveat: the night we ate there it was just my husaband and I, celebrating our fifth anniversary, a bit early on Valentine’s Day. We had a 7:30 ADR and Wishes was at 8. OK, fantastic, right? When they brought us to our Mickey confetti covered table directly in front of one of those huge windows that overlooks the castle, I had tears in my eyes. Was this actually happening? Is this the much vaunted Pixie dust I’ve been hearing about? Indeed, it was. The whole evening was amazing, from the food to the service to the ambiance. I think I floated back to Coronado Springs.

Your CA Grill sounds awesome. Does YC offer evening child care? Would Max go for it?

In May Katie & I stopped at the Cubs Den at WLR for a little art and craft time. She was rather disappointed that we would NOT be leaving her there for our evening dinner plans at Kouzzina. (we would have but we had 5pm ADR and would have to leave our resort before 4:30 to get there, and childcare didnt start till 4:30 )

And so I went out and purchased a new Nikon Friday night...almost the same exact color as my old one so he'll never know! I am assured it will take decent pictures at a decent speed. Of course, I promptly proceeded to accidentally set the language on what I believe is German. Oops... I have an e-mail into Nikon and I'm sure its an easy fix, even if I can't figure it out on my own. :

YEAH for new camera - your photos of the hydrangeas and Max are great!

Who knows? And what do I pack for clothes? Is it just going to be hot to the point where the difference between a t shirt and a tank top will be minimal?

At the end of our week it got HOT and that was May. I can't imagine July! Try to hit KMart or Target for one of those fan/misters - I paid $7 at KMart and they were about $15 or so at WDW. they really do help....It kept Katie cool and entertained when we were in long lines for something. I bought two but we only used one.

I packed mostly tee's, one tank. By mid week I was shopping for a much lighter weight tee than what I brought -- so skip the heavy 50/50' tees you can wear in the north east - they are too thick! My DH wore his lightweight hawaiian shirts and his Nike super light weight shirts - the type MickeyNikki suggested

Your migraine experience sounds horrible!!! and I know at my last work place (not even a school) my co workers would have been texting me too to see if I was okay had I had a "text in sick" moment like you had. ...maybe you can convert your paranoia into warm fuzzies???

The following weekend is fourth of July and we have a reunion with my college friends and a get together for local fireworks. Then...its on to Max's Cars themed birthday extravaganza...which won't be all that extravagant, really, as we're headed down to Disney the following week!

Katie is a July baby too...is Max a lovey and empathetic to people as Katie is? She is 7/8....and born at 9 am..../7/8/9

Are you going to TR after? I am anxious to hear about the heat and crowds in July.Naturally Katie would love to experience HER birthday at WDW and Joe and I are quite leary of those temps and crowd. Joe + Heat + Crowds=


Your plans all sound great Tina! I know you will have a blast!!!

 

[Disneyfreak616]

Congrats on the CP ADR!!!

I managed to snag one about 2 months out @ 8:10 for my July trip. I am so excited!

Your plans sound great! I know you'll have a magical time!

Only 3 weeks!!!

 

[dizneeat]

You are only 3 weeks out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

for scoring that early ADR at CP! Breakfast with Pooh and friends and a nearly empty park - how cool is that!

Hope you are going to have a nice Thursday!

 

[KatMark]

3 weeks out? Where did the time go?

for Crystal Palace. As much as we love Cape May's breakfast, CP is our favorite!

 

[PirateKate]

An early morning CP ADR sounds great! I hope the park is nice and empty still at 8:20.

 

[pinkxray]

Congrats on getting the CP adr. I don't know what I was thinking picking CRT over CP for breakfast this year.

 

[tinacaplan]

It has been awhile since I've posted much of anything on here... hmm... curious when one considers how soon my trip is coming up. That said, last week was the last week of school (finally!) and it was HECTIC. As the eighth grade team leader, I was responsible for executing both commencement and a pool party/picnic, in addition to scoring over seventy-five exams and closing down my room for the year! Phew!

I wanted to start the summer off doing something fun with Mark and Max, so we headed to NYC for the day. We met up one of my good friends whom Max absolutely adores. I think he has a bit of a crush and I tease him that Meghan is his girlfriend. We had a delicious lunch and then went off to do some exploring in Central Park. Max played in two different playgrounds and we had a lovely, leisurely walk that ended in Strawberry Fields. After that, we grabbed some yummy Pinkberry frozen yogurt, which actually tastes like good, tangy yogurt.

We then paid a visit to the Crocs flagship store. I picked up a pair of open-weave flats in a fun purple; they look like jelly shoes from the '80s, except these are Crocs and a LOT more comfortable.

After that, we walked back to where we had parked the car, but stopped at Zabar's first. Mark loves real pastrami and Zabar's was an excellent place to get him some authentic NY deli food. Yum!

Max was excellent the whole day...wish I could say that same held true for Sunday. We went over to my parent's and Max, my mom, and I had set out for the pool when it started to drizzle. We turned back and decided to go see Cars 2, which Max has been eagerly anticipating. Personally, had it been my sole decision, we would have held off on the movie, as Max was in a truly crummy mood all day; whiny and a bit bratty. Mark did not necessarily agree, however, so in the interest of avoiding an argument in front of my parents, we forged ahead and went to the movie.

Max was OK and I think he enjoyed it. I liked it a lot, Mark thought it was merely OK. The true highlight, though, might have been the Toy Story short at the beginning. Overall, I found the movie to be highly entertaining and beautiful to look at (as are all Pixar movies, IMO), but I would not have been disappointed by a movie that kept them all closer to home. I also think it was a big mistake to start the movie with a ten minute action sequence that did not feature a single character from the first film. Way to lose the interest of little kids, Pixar. Not sure the overall spy plot held much interest for little kids, either. But, hey, Mater is definitely charming.

Now we're just relaxing, swimming, and enjoying the summer while we count down the days to DISNEY!

 

[tinacaplan]

David Bowe.

I'm glad you got an ADR to get you into the MK early. You should be able to get a jump on Fantasyland.

That's the idea...

to the CP ADR. I love that place. I love Eeyore! I think I like CMC a tad more in terms of ambiance, but you really can't beat breakfast in the MK.

It should be fun and getting into MK early is an added bonus!

on getting an early morning ADR at CP!!!!

Thanks, Ann.

Hi Tina...I somehow missed far more of your updates (almost the whole thing!) even though I thought I was reading. Maybe I was reading February's??

No worries...I missed the whole start to your TR! It happens.

Your plans look great and you will see from my quotes here that I started where I thought I left off, then saw I missed everything about your uncle, so I backtracked!

I am sorry to hear of your uncle - how is your cousin? I can't imagine losing a parent now (at 42) yet alone at 27.

Thank you for you kind words. It was hard and I really felt terrible for my cousin, in particular. Given my dad's history of health issues, I never would have imagined that he would have to deal with such a loss before I would (I'm seven years older than my cousin). I'm just trying to be there for my family as best as I can.

Love that Max wants to put the tags on his "luggages". I sort of miss the old tags, they were a little easier to use - the loopy things on the new ones are not very flexible.

I like how colorful the new ones are...although I still have the ones from our last trip on!

As I read through I see that you are planning the same way I plan: hit it hard the first half, then ease up before exhaustion and crabbies catch up.

When Katie was 3 1/2, we picked everything for the first few days - it was our first trip ever. Then later in the week I had left 2 days for favorites, and we definitely let her have a day to sort of pick the rides that she loved best. We spent a LOT Of time in Fantasy land and Toon Town (I miss Toontown!) that time!

I had really overplanned us in February and we were just super tired for most of the trip. This time, I have hopefully cut down on what I'm planning so that we enjoy what we get to and do it without getting exhausted.

really? I thought PA schools went late. You win! (or do you lose? not sure!)

Nope...schools in New England go late!

Not sure but I think that TSM will have a longer line than Star Tours - might you want to get fast passes for TSM for all three of you and then wait in line for ST? you can do parent swap (but then Max won't be able to play in HISTK all the while. )

Good point...I'll have to think about that. I know Max will not stand for child swap. I wish he would, but he won't....and he's old enough to know what's going on and if I were him, I'd be upset, too, if I waited in a line, only to find out I couldn't go on the ride I had waited for. It must work well, though, for really little kids and babies.

One thing that played a big part of our AK touring was the layout of the park. You are going to do a lot of backtracking here. Rafiki's train is right next to the Safari, and a good walk to KRR --- so unless you really really really love all that walking back and forth you may have to adjust. Can you convince DH to run to RKK for the FP's? saves a lot of extra walking for the whole gang (I have feet issues so this is always an issue for me, sorry if I am pushing my issue on you)

I actually think that because Max would love to meet Rafiki and he loves trains, we might do this and not the safari. I'll go FPs, if anyone does, because my sense of direction and knowledge of the parks is a bit better than my husband's, otherwise he'd happily do it.

Your CA Grill sounds awesome. Does YC offer evening child care? Would Max go for it?

In May Katie & I stopped at the Cubs Den at WLR for a little art and craft time. She was rather disappointed that we would NOT be leaving her there for our evening dinner plans at Kouzzina. (we would have but we had 5pm ADR and would have to leave our resort before 4:30 to get there, and childcare didnt start till 4:30 )

I'm really looking forward to Cali Grill. I have thought about going the childcare route and perhaps might even want to reconsider it...hmm...not sure how Max would feel about it, though.

YEAH for new camera - your photos of the hydrangeas and Max are great!



At the end of our week it got HOT and that was May. I can't imagine July! Try to hit KMart or Target for one of those fan/misters - I paid $7 at KMart and they were about $15 or so at WDW. they really do help....It kept Katie cool and entertained when we were in long lines for something. I bought two but we only used one.

I packed mostly tee's, one tank. By mid week I was shopping for a much lighter weight tee than what I brought -- so skip the heavy 50/50' tees you can wear in the north east - they are too thick! My DH wore his lightweight hawaiian shirts and his Nike super light weight shirts - the type MickeyNikki suggested

I'm prepared (or at least I think I am) for the heat. Its funny, but it is one thing I don't really remember from my childhood trips.

Your migraine experience sounds horrible!!! and I know at my last work place (not even a school) my co workers would have been texting me too to see if I was okay had I had a "text in sick" moment like you had. ...maybe you can convert your paranoia into warm fuzzies???

While the experience wasn't fun, in the end, it all worked out fine!

Katie is a July baby too...is Max a lovey and empathetic to people as Katie is? She is 7/8....and born at 9 am..../7/8/9

Max can be, but he's also very much a boy. He can also get frustrated pretty easily, which we're working on.

My husband still teases me that if I had only held Max in for another hour, he could've had 7/7/07 for his birthdate.

Are you going to TR after? I am anxious to hear about the heat and crowds in July.Naturally Katie would love to experience HER birthday at WDW and Joe and I are quite leary of those temps and crowd. Joe + Heat + Crowds=


Your plans all sound great Tina! I know you will have a blast!!!

I will be doing a TR again...hopefully a better one that I did in February. I'll have a bit of time once we're back and I also think we're taking a laptop so Max can watch movies on the plane, so I'll have a computer to take notes on. That and a better camera just might equal a better written, more details TR!

3 weeks out? Where did the time go?

for Crystal Palace. As much as we love Cape May's breakfast, CP is our favorite!

Tell me about it...can't believe how quickly its gone. We still have ADRs for both and may keep them...or I'll cancel CMC. CP is great.

An early morning CP ADR sounds great! I hope the park is nice and empty still at 8:20.

One thing I noticed on our last trip is that if we showed up a bit early for ADRs, particularly early in the morning, we were able to get in pretty easily.

Congrats on getting the CP adr. I don't know what I was thinking picking CRT over CP for breakfast this year.

I'm guessing you were thinking about Cinderella?

 

[PirateKate]

Your day in NYC sounds like a lot of fun. It must be nice to be done with the school year.

I haven't seen Cars 2 yet, but I've heard that the plot is really complicated for little kids to follow.

 

[tinacaplan]

Your day in NYC sounds like a lot of fun. It must be nice to be done with the school year.

I haven't seen Cars 2 yet, but I've heard that the plot is really complicated for little kids to follow.

Thanks...NYC was great and we're headed back this weekend.

And you're right about the plot of Cars 2. It IS really complicated for little kids. I felt like they forgot who their target audience for this movie actually was...little kids! Still glad we went, though, and I'm sure Max will watch it a million times when it comes out on Blu-ray.

 

[pinkxray]

I was wondering how you liked Cars 2. It looks a bit complicated for little kids. I am glad Caitlin doesn't really like the first movie, I don't think I could watch it all the time.

We are counting down the days until Winnie the Pooh opens on July 15th and the new Harry Potter movie comes out too.

I want to go to NCY this summer, but I have never been there on my own. I used to go with my sister when I was in high school, but she knew her way around. DH has never been there and I am afraid if we go and get lost, he will never want to go anywhere again.

Central Park sounds lovely. I'll have to start researching and trying to get us there. DH is 30 and from CT and it really is unacceptable that he has never been, I don't want Caitlin to be a CTer who has never been to NYC too.

We are hoping to head to Six Flags next week. I was hoping to go to Lake Compounce but DH is looking to get a new truck and the one he wants is about 3 minutes from Six Flags. Can't pass up that opportunity.

 

[tinacaplan]

I was wondering how you liked Cars 2. It looks a bit complicated for little kids. I am glad Caitlin doesn't really like the first movie, I don't think I could watch it all the time.

We love it, but then...Max is a total boy in every possible way!

We are counting down the days until Winnie the Pooh opens on July 15th and the new Harry Potter movie comes out too.

I can't wait for Pooh! Although, I suppose that will wait until after we return. Max is young for Harry Potter, still.

I want to go to NCY this summer, but I have never been there on my own. I used to go with my sister when I was in high school, but she knew her way around. DH has never been there and I am afraid if we go and get lost, he will never want to go anywhere again.

Central Park sounds lovely. I'll have to start researching and trying to get us there. DH is 30 and from CT and it really is unacceptable that he has never been, I don't want Caitlin to be a CTer who has never been to NYC too.

I went to college down there and I still cannot believe how much cleaner things are in Manhattan than they were in the mid to late 90s. As for going to the city from CT, it can depend a lot on what part of the state you're from and the experiences of your family. It can be a bit intimidating if you're not sure where you're going.

Luckily, the internet has made finding your way around NYC a lot easier.

We are hoping to head to Six Flags next week. I was hoping to go to Lake Compounce but DH is looking to get a new truck and the one he wants is about 3 minutes from Six Flags. Can't pass up that opportunity.

Have fun at Six Flags. I was just there last summer, chaperoning a class trip, and we had a lovely day, save for the ridiculous prices they were charging for food and drinks. I'm also not a big roller coaster person (I can only seem to handle them in Disney, where they're not as in your face scary), so there were a lot of rides I had zero interest in.

I just like Lake Compounce because its a bit more low key, the overall setting is nicer, and it has a bunch more kiddie rides for Max. He loved it there last summer. I don't think we'll make it there before we go to Disneyworld, unless we get a few days a not so great, but not pouring weather between now and then. The place is very quite during the week, fyi.

Our town has a community pool that's decent and has zero entry, which Max is LOVING right now, so we're spending some time there. My mom also lives in a beautiful condo community that has a gorgeous pool that we get to spend plenty of time at, as well.

Good luck with the truck!

 

[tinacaplan]

I have apparently forgotten that for me, at least, one of the side effects of being on vacation is raging insomnia. I had no intention of being awake to actually write a post like this, but there we are...

IN TWO WEEKS...RIGHT NOW...I'LL BE GETTING IN THE CAR TO GO TO THE AIRPORT!!!!!!!​

How excited am I? Well, too excited to sleep, obviously. Chances are that next Wednesday I will better prepare myself and be in bed at a much more reasonable hour.

Just a few quick updates...nothing major, so don't get too excited...

I called today and added a room request. After thinking that I really didn't care, as I don't know the Beach Club at all and I can see the plusses of a number of different locations, I called and made a request for a full balcony. I think it will be nice to take advantage of one, if its available. And who knows? Perhaps some fireworks will be visible from the balcony and how cool would that be??

I also cancelled our arrival day dinner ADR at Rose and Crown and changed it to Via Napoli. I know that Disney has made dining out with little kids convenient in that their basic kids menu is virtually the same everywhere, I didn't want Max to end up eating neon yellow mac and cheese again. And via Napoli has spaghetti and meatballs on its kids menu, which, to my way of thinking, comprises an actual meal that I'm not ashamed to be serving my child.

Plus, I really want to like Via Napoli and so I will perhaps try their pasta this time around.

One final note I would like to add, though, is that when I logged onto the website to make some ADR inquiries today, I was shocked when I could get a table at virtually every TS place in WS that night at 7p.m., give or take. We're two weeks out people...what gives?

It has certainly worked in my favor, though, especially given that I only booked this trip on April 1, way inside my 180 day window.


And now, as I sit here typing away, and the birds have begun to chirp, I wonder if I should even bother going to sleep at all? Hmmm... what to do???

 

[tinacaplan]

Hello... well, I did end up going to sleep for a bit. Not the worst decision. We're all just getting more and more excited.

I got a message from school today that really irritated me... I realize its a charter school and that I made the choice to take this path and then chose again when I decided to accept a position as a team leader, but still... We get five weeks off this summer and we're back for our first day on August 1. So I had decided I liked how relaxed I'd been feeling and wanted to enjoy it (and my family, who often gets shortchanged because of the crazy hours and stress during the school year) so I wasn't going to do any work until after we're back from Disney. I figured between cleaning/organizing the house, packing for the trip, and making Max's bithday happen, I'd have plenty to keep me busy over the next couple weeks. Then, I got a group text message from our dean (also a close friend) telling us that our principal had sent out an e-mail that we might find helpful. He was just alerting us in case we weren't checking our e-mail. Um...don't you think if we weren't checking our school e-mail it it was because we wanted to be left alone for a little while???? Needless to say that I checked the e-mail right away and there were things in it for me to get all stressed out over! GRR!! Leave me alone!

Thankfully...I'm just thirteen days our from our trip!!!!

 

[tinacaplan]

How am I preparing?

When I was about two weeks out from my February trips my life was quite different, as school was in full swing. My husband and I were both teaching and Max was at preschool full time, so I had plenty of real world activities to distract me.

This time, it being July, we’re all off, save for the two days a week Max is attending summer camp at his new school (which is going very well, much better than his old preschool, thankfully). I am trying to avoid doing much in the way of school work, although that’s always easier said than done for me. Bottom line: I have a ton of time on my hands right, which is great, but... its giving me a lot of time to fixate on and otherwise obsess over our trip.

I’d also like to add that I am farily certain (as, ninety-nine percent-ish certain) we won’t return to Disneyworld until summer of 2013. We have a big move on the horizon and I think all of our resources will have to be focused on that for awhile. Which is exciting on its own, for sure. I think summer 2013 is a reasonable target: Hopefully, we’ll be settled in our new home by next summer, giving us a full year to save post-move. Plus, Max will be six (I cannot believe that one!) and going into first grade. I have faith and trust that the appropriate ixie dust will have been applied by then so the new Fantasyland will be open for business. We’re really ready to be their guest, as my husband has been stating his of “Beauty and the Beast” with alarming frequency. I also know that our Disney dollars go further in July than over President’s Week in February, thus our stay this summer at the Beach Club. All of that said, I really want this trip to as wonderful I can possibly plan for!

First of all, I’ve started following several more trip reports and dining reviews than ever before. Nothing like checking out other people’s past trips (and pictures!) to get you super stoked and keep me entertained.

Second, since I have a lot more time to do things with Max, we’ve been listening to Disney music nonstop. We have found that the Disney channel on Pandora does quite nicely. Max has gotten incredibly familiar with all the Disney classics. We have had some truly memorable family moments recently, all three of us belting out “Hakuna Mata” and “Beauty and the Beast.”

Third, we’ve been watching Disney movies and more Disney movies! Since our last trip, Max has become very into Peter Pan , so we’re getting super psyched for the ride. He’s also seen a ton of previews for the Winnie the Pooh movie.

Last night, while we were at my parents, Max had a minor accident while on the swings. There was blood and bruised gums involved. Yuck! And scray and unpleasant for my little guy, to boot. He came in and wanted nothing more than to sit in with his mama and watch “Up!” He drifted off to sleep about fifteen minutes in, but I stayed and watched anyway. I love this movie and Mark and I had the sweetest character interaction we’ve probably ever had when we met Carl and Dug while we were at DHS back in February 2010. In fact, it was a highlight of our trip.


We’ve watched “Beauty and the Beast” at least three times and I would like to watch “Bugs Life,” “Snow White,” “Monsters, Inc.” and possibly, the Toy Story movies again before we leave.

Don’t think Max will watch it, but I’d like to get see the first “Pirates” before we go, too. Can you believe that I, a declared Disney AND Keith Richards fan, and I’ve not see any of the “Pirates” movies yet? For shame, I know. Too bad all of the video stores around us have closed over the last six months. I just added them to Netflix queue. We’ll see if I remember to send back the two Netflix DVDs that have been gathering dust around here for (ahem) many, many weeks, unwatched.

Fourth, I’ve done some shopping, using the Florida heat as an excuse! While it can often get quite hazy, hot, and humid here in Connecticut, it doesn’t get that bad anywhere nearly as regularly as it does in Florida, obviously, necessitating new tank tops, sundresses, tees, and shorts. I’ve also tried on most of the super cool items I already own, making piles of what I plan to take. Max has already announced that he will not wear any of his Mickey apparel (a seriously large percentage of his wardrobe, mind you) because, “those clothes are for Disneyworld.” Duh, Mama.

I still need to pick up some travel essentials, including a dollar pop-up hamper and a supply of ponchos, among other items commonly found in Target’s travel aisle. I’m still debating about what time bring for our (meaning Max’s) in-room breakfasts. I’m sure it will be squeeze tube apple sauce and granola or cereal bars.

Fifth, I’ve been tinkering here and there with my day to day plans, including some last minute ADR swaps. And I just can’t overstate my suprise upon finding all of this swapping to be quite easy. I’ve been able to rearrange things as I’ve wanted pretty much everytime I’ve changed my mind.

And last, but certainly not least, I’ve been spending as much time swimming as I possibly can. Gotta have a good tan before I’m done there! And Max is getting much better with his swimming. OK, he’s gotten a lot less scared about swimming, in general, he hasn’t actually begun to swim yet. Still, its a giant step in the right direction, particularly since we plan on conquering Storm-along-Bay.

Oh, yes, and I’ve been subjecting all of you to lenghty diatribes detailing the precise form my excitement has been taking!

What do you do to get into the groove before a trip to Disney?

And yes, I take full responsibility for padding this update with smilies to try and make up for a lack of pictures.