Surprise... It's Someday!! A Dec 2010 PTR!!

[Tinker_Tam]

Woo hoo, I have to admit, Bill and I watch that cartoon, we really enjoy it .

Jon and I enjoy it too... opps...I mean the kids love it! I must admit we have the CD in the car too and listen to it when we are out and about, with the kiddos of course. I actually found P&F silly bandz at Walmart that I picked up as a surprise for the kids in WDW... and well, if one or 2 happen to end up on my arm, i'll have to live with that!

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So hoping to get to my days soon. I have some questions for all of you experts but I don't want to give away too much info just yet. I am starting to second guess some things.

 

[mrsksomeday]

Ask away, we are always willing to help. The doubts creep in to my mind about my plans every trip. Just remember no amount of planning will make the trip perfect because nothing in life is. Really look around at the beauty there, take a deep breath, and remember that you are in WDW and it will make every thing all right.

 

[taramoz]

Jon and I enjoy it too... opps...I mean the kids love it! I must admit we have the CD in the car too and listen to it when we are out and about, with the kiddos of course. I actually found P&F silly bandz at Walmart that I picked up as a surprise for the kids in WDW... and well, if one or 2 happen to end up on my arm, i'll have to live with that!

********************
So hoping to get to my days soon. I have some questions for all of you experts but I don't want to give away too much info just yet. I am starting to second guess some things.

OK, just wanted to add in that Kris and I love P&F as well. It's a cartoon we enjoy with DD, we all get a kick out of it!!!

 

[Tinker_Tam]

OK, just wanted to add in that Kris and I love P&F as well. It's a cartoon we enjoy with DD, we all get a kick out of it!!!

So glad I am not alone on this one! It is also making it super easy to plan for games and things so they do so much exploring! I think it will be a great party if I can just pull it off that close to the holidays...and it doesn't get snowed out.

 

[Tinkermom76]

ask away... that's what we are here for!!!

 

[Tinker_Tam]

ok... I have decided... today is the day!!! I am going to slowly start laying my plans out for you all to read. Please, please, please feel free to give me all the feedback you can. Since this is our first trip I am thinking things are ok, but would love the experienced view many of you have to offer. I have learned so much from all the talented trip planners on the Dis that I can't imagine what my trip would be like without the help from all of you. You all are amazing in my book!

November 28 will be 1 CrAzY day for this family!! Jon is working overnight the night before. If you remember from my earlier post it is the last home football game for Penn State... (really meaning, the last chance to make some extra money for the trip ). He will come home in the morning of the 28th and crawl straight into bed... or there will be some DISCUSSION about that! Brenda, Gavin and I will get up, get ready and head off to Church. I may even get them up a little earlier than normal. I want them to be super tired when bedtime rolls around. Jon is going to sleep all day and I am going to do my best to keep the kids out of the house so it is a restful sleep. Sometime during the day I will pack the trunk with the bags for WDW. And put the bag for Jon's parent's in the back seat. This way we don't have to unload everything to get the clothes for when we stop. I am packing the trunk because Jon is much better about getting lots in the trunk. He'll pack it on the way home. So I know that if I get everything in the trunk and there is still some room we have it made! As it starts to get closer to bedtime for the kids, we will get bathed and into PJs just as we normally would. Don't want to mix up there schedule too much. This is also about the time Jon will be getting up... which is a normal routine for him. Normally he would be headed off to work at 11. Instead we load 2 sleeping kids, 1 well rested driver and an wife that is too excited to sleep into the car and off we go!!!!!

It will take us roughly 9 hours with no stops to get to Jon's parent's...which if you remember was one of Jon's stipulations. We should get there in the morning. The kids will (hopefully) have slept most of the night. They usually do pretty good sleeping in the car. They should be rest when we get to their Nana and Poppa's... And they should be super excited. When we get there I will get them cleaned up, teeth brushed, hair done...all the fun stuff and get them dressed. Then we will head over to MIL's shop. I am not sure if I have told you before but MIL is a professional seamstress and she is making Brenda some princess dresses... on top of the ones we bought. It was her idea and she is loving being able to do that for Brenda so I could never break her heart. Anyway, we will have final fitting on the dresses. Gavin has a pirate costume that she is going to fit to him too. Once all of that is done we will head out and visit a park, or something like that to once again, wear out Brenda and Gavin. When it becomes bedtime for the ILs we will get the kids bathed and back in Pjs and leave and be on our way to the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!! Not that I don't love my ILs but I will be so happy when their bedtime comes. Jon will then drive us about 10 hours to DISNEY!!!!!!! We plan on getting there in the morning...

So...the award for the woman with the heart of gold in this CrAzY family goes to my wonderful MIL for making Brenda some princess dresses to wear on her trip!

Up next...in just a few minutes... Day 1!!!!!!!!!

 

[taramoz]

So...the award for the woman with the heart of gold in this CrAzY family goes to my wonderful MIL for making Brenda some princess dresses to wear on her trip!

Aww, awesome MIL todo that!

 

[KatMark]

Tam, that is so nice of your MIL to make princess dresses for your daughter and a costume for you son.

 

[Tinker_Tam]

So with out further delay... this brings us to day number 1. Jon has decided that he too will be too excited to sleep when we finally get to WDW. So we are going to just keep going that day. Since we are leaving the ILs the night before at their bedtime we should arrive somewhere close to 8-10am. I also figure at this point I will have been up for about 48 hours straight... but I will still be good. I am not sure if I mentioned it or not but I tend to suffer from pretty severe insomnia. This was pregnancy induced when I was pregnant with Gavin, and due to circumstances with him and his health it never really went away. Drs have offered to put me on sleeping pills but I refuse in fear that I won't be able to be 100% there for Gavin when he gets sick at night. I do tend to sleep well though when we have gone on trips in the past so I am sure once we get to Disney the insomnia will be a distant memory...at least for a little while. Anyway, we will be getting to Disney early and I have no expectations that our room will be ready. I am hoping that I can change the ice in Gavin's meds till we can get in a room with a fridge. We have debated on several things for this day.

Options....
1. The kids have never seen the ocean. They have no idea how vast it is. They have never collected sea shells...and I am not even 100% sure then understand we get shells from the ocean. We have talked about heading over to Cocoa Beach for a little while. I don't really want them to get soaked but they could dip their toes in the water and pick up shells.

2. We could visit DTD. Spend the day there till our room is ready. If it is done early we could head back and get a little nap. Not sure if that will make us feel better or worse. We do have DTD time later in the stay.

3. We could simply use one of our days and go to MK.... for the very first time!!!! The only problem if we use one day we will be short a park ticket later in the week. We might need a down day later in the week or we might change a few things up, which is where I need your advice later too...

We do have 5:30 ADRs for Chef Mickey's. This will completely surprise the kids! I am so excited to see them with the Fab 5. This is truly an opening evening to our vacation. After this we thought of riding the monorail and then heading back to bed. I am sure we will all be excited but sleepy too... and we will still need to unpack and organize. The Christmas party is going on at MK so we wouldn't be going there anyway... although we have hoppers so I am not sure what EMH are that night... if there are any.

At some point this day we also need to make a run to either Sam's Club or Walmart. We are going to get a case of water and a few things that Gavin will need. He has to eat yogurt everyday to keep the bacteria in his stomach balanced and Activia really is the best we have found to help him out. I figure it would be great to have in the room and he could have it for breakfast...and it would most likely be cheaper than buying it every morning for him, not to mention finding the brand he needs. I want to pick up a few snacks for the room too...and have talked about buying diapers there. In any case a trip to Sams or Walmart is a must this day.

So that is our first day... I promise it gets better! Day #2 is a hectic day... but this is the day I need advice on. I have so much planned that I might change... just can't decide. Will probably get to that tomorrow.

So...the award for best surprise on our first day in this CrAzY family vacation goes to Chef Mickey's!!

 

[Tinker_Tam]

Aww, awesome MIL todo that!

Tam, that is so nice of your MIL to make princess dresses for your daughter and a costume for you son.

I think she is pretty good as far as MILs go. I must admit we didn't always get along so well though. Not that we ever argued on anything but I guess I just didn't appreciate her till I lost my own mom. It really changed my view on her.

 

[brookelizabeth]

Woooooooo! How exciting to put the plans into print!!!! I think they are looking really good. At first I was concerned about YOU, but you mentioned your insomnia (been there, ugh!), and it sounds like you've learned to make it work for you and your family - so go girl!

As for Gavin's meds - any of the Disney resorts should be able to put them directly into a fridge for you, even if your room isn't ready. They are very, very good about this. We have had groceries delivered before too and they will store them - so meds, no problem! Disney is so good about this kind of stuff!

As for plans on Day 1, I vote DTD. It will be fun, yet relaxing. It's DISNEY, but you don't need to use a park ticket. Plus, you are still on property, so it's easy to get to your Chef Mickey's ADR. And btw, FANTASTIC way to kick it off with CM and a monorail ride! Your kiddos will love them both. (and you will too!)

Prize for best planner/least selfish woman - YOU!

 

[mrsksomeday]

Please, please find a way to rest before you get to Disney, even if you can't sleep try to rest in the car and at the in laws. I am the queen of running myself into the ground, don't do it!! The amount of walking is massive, even if the fatigue doesn't hit you the first day, it will quickly catch up to you. Yes, you will be on the "I am in WDW" high, but you will crash if you don't watch it and it will cause problems for the rest of the trip.

I see the allure of wanting to go to MK that day, but my opinion, I would do the ocean or DTD, take it very easy that day, do Chef Mickey's, ride the monorail, go back to the room early, check out the resort, and get things organized in your room. This way you can be all ready for bed and off to a running start for the next day.

I can not wait to see Brenda's outfits and Gavin's pirates costume.

 

[jenseib]

I vote for DTD. I think after all that driving, you will be too tired to drive over to Coco beach. I think it's at least another 1 or so to get there. You can then kind of just go at a slow pace at DTD and then when your room is ready, head over and swim and relax.
I agree, do try and get some sleep when you can. Maybe when at the Il's, see if you can get a nap. I know for me, sleeping in the car is awful. I can't get comfy and end up with some body part twisted and in pain. And then I vote to try to get to bed early.
This is hard for our family at Disney, but I have tried. LOL! There is just soooo much excitement.
Did you put in a room rquest? if so, for where? We like poolside, personally, but then that means Claire wants to swim everytime we pass the pool. I hate to admit it, but I think the pool is Claire's favorite thing at Disney.

 

[Tinkermom76]

I agree with DTD that day so if you need to relax you can swim or nap.

What a great MIL you have, I wish mine could sew. I think I need to talk to her about that and let her know that she needs to learn to sew so the girls canhave outfits for Disney.. it's only fair right???

 

[KatMark]

I agree with DTD too. It will give you a "Disney" feel and then you can get to your Chef Mickey's ADR easily enough.

 

[Tinker_Tam]

Woooooooo! How exciting to put the plans into print!!!! I think they are looking really good. At first I was concerned about YOU, but you mentioned your insomnia (been there, ugh!), and it sounds like you've learned to make it work for you and your family - so go girl!

As for Gavin's meds - any of the Disney resorts should be able to put them directly into a fridge for you, even if your room isn't ready. They are very, very good about this. We have had groceries delivered before too and they will store them - so meds, no problem! Disney is so good about this kind of stuff!

As for plans on Day 1, I vote DTD. It will be fun, yet relaxing. It's DISNEY, but you don't need to use a park ticket. Plus, you are still on property, so it's easy to get to your Chef Mickey's ADR. And btw, FANTASTIC way to kick it off with CM and a monorail ride! Your kiddos will love them both. (and you will too!)

Prize for best planner/least selfish woman - YOU!

Thank you! I will take that prize and show it to everyone I know! I really have put a lot of work and research into this trip to make it the best for everyone.

Also, thanks for the info on the meds. It will be much easier to have them store them, then having us worry about the temperature all day. I wasn't sure if they would fridge them for us or not.

Please, please find a way to rest before you get to Disney, even if you can't sleep try to rest in the car and at the in laws. I am the queen of running myself into the ground, don't do it!! The amount of walking is massive, even if the fatigue doesn't hit you the first day, it will quickly catch up to you. Yes, you will be on the "I am in WDW" high, but you will crash if you don't watch it and it will cause problems for the rest of the trip.

I see the allure of wanting to go to MK that day, but my opinion, I would do the ocean or DTD, take it very easy that day, do Chef Mickey's, ride the monorail, go back to the room early, check out the resort, and get things organized in your room. This way you can be all ready for bed and off to a running start for the next day.

I can not wait to see Brenda's outfits and Gavin's pirates costume.

I actually talked to my aunt today. She has asked if she could keep the kiddos after church for me for a while since it will be well over 2 weeks till she gets to see them again. She is also keeping them over night 2 weeks before so I can scrapbook! I took her up on the offer. I figure that most of the packing will be done before then so I can throw it all in the car and spend my day resting with my feet up! I know Disney will wear me out, and to be honest, that is one of the things I am looking forward to. Right now I average about 3-4 hours a night of sleep. I know that while we are at Disney I will be getting some real sleep. Being in the same room, with Gavin will help and then just being so tired.

I can't wait to see what MIL works up for Brenda. I wasn't real clear but I actually bought Gavin's pirate costume and she has to do alterations on it. As you will see in person, he is a little disproportionate. His belly tends to be on the big size because of the intestine/ colon issues but he is also on the short side. I did the best I could and she said that she would do her magic on the costume. Brenda on the other hand will be simply beautiful I am sure!

I vote for DTD. I think after all that driving, you will be too tired to drive over to Coco beach. I think it's at least another 1 or so to get there. You can then kind of just go at a slow pace at DTD and then when your room is ready, head over and swim and relax.
I agree, do try and get some sleep when you can. Maybe when at the Il's, see if you can get a nap. I know for me, sleeping in the car is awful. I can't get comfy and end up with some body part twisted and in pain. And then I vote to try to get to bed early.
This is hard for our family at Disney, but I have tried. LOL! There is just soooo much excitement.
Did you put in a room rquest? if so, for where? We like poolside, personally, but then that means Claire wants to swim everytime we pass the pool. I hate to admit it, but I think the pool is Claire's favorite thing at Disney.

I agree with DTD that day so if you need to relax you can swim or nap.

What a great MIL you have, I wish mine could sew. I think I need to talk to her about that and let her know that she needs to learn to sew so the girls canhave outfits for Disney.. it's only fair right???

I agree with DTD too. It will give you a "Disney" feel and then you can get to your Chef Mickey's ADR easily enough.

I do think we are leaning to DTD. I must admit, the ocean has a draw to it, but this is our Disney trip. The kids have the rest of their lives to see a big body of water!

 

[Tinker_Tam]

And this is where all the trouble begins... Can there every really be trouble in Disney World though. I don't think so. Maybe I should say this is where I am thinking of changing things up. So, let me start with how my day looks right now....

(In my best Sophia from Golden Girls voice) Picture it, Disney World, Dec 1, 2010...Day number 2. The day will start off with us being completely excited. I have no doubt that we will all be up at the butt crack of dawn. We will be out the door in time for RD at MK!!!! After capturing the kids expression once they see Cinderella's castle, and I have dried my tears, Brenda and I will be headed for BBB! And the boys will be headed off for Gavin's appt at PL! What a great way to start off the day! Brenda of course will be wearing one of her princess gowns and of course Gavin will be in his Pirate costume. I am not sure who is more excited at this point... Brenda to be a princess or Gavin to be a pirate. I am sure I will bust into tears once again when I see them. I wasn't really sure Gavin understood things till the other day we were out shopping and he begged for a shirt with a skull on it. It wasn't a super scary one...more on the funny side of Halloween. When I asked why he wanted it so bad he told me because that is what pirates wear! I didn't get that at first but Jon explained it all! So, although he has never seen POTC he knows what pirates are all about. We have the veggietale movie...Pirates who don't do anything and he has to watch it often. I guess that is where he is getting this pirate craze from. I was worried he would be scared but I think we are more than safe right now. He also walks around saying "a pirate says Argh!" Its too cute to see. Brenda has talked non-stop since I first told her she was going to get to dress and get her hair done like a princess. This is such a big deal to her.

After we are all done with appt and pictures and all the fun stuff these 2 places involve we will meet up, most likely in tomorrow land and catch what we can. We will spend the day in MK but if the kiddos need a nap we will head back to Pop.

That evening, for dinner, we have an ADR at CRT! This was really the first ADR I was set on. If you remember back, Brenda told me she wanted to live in Cinderella's castle. Well, since she can't do that, I figured dinner this was the next best thing. So, on ADR day I was up and on the line ready to book this. Got the time we wanted too so that is a plus. Brenda does know we are eating there but I don't think everything has really sunk in yet. I can't wait to see her there, in her princess gown, in the most princess-y place in all the world. Ok, I have to stop, I am starting to tear up again. So we will take our time and enjoy a special dinner. I am not sure if we will have enough time after dinner to go see the electrical parade or not but we should be able to make wishes before heading back to Pop. What an amazing day... at least to this first timer!

Ok, so here is where my issues are coming in. If you remember back to one of my earlier posts, I posted about my dad's response to the whole trip. I then said that we had never talked about things again. That isn't entirely true. We did talk 2 more times about the trip. The first time we talked, he had said that him and his wife wanted to pay for our MVMCP. I was over the top. I told him I would let him know when I knew about booking. I explained that we were talking somewhere between 200 and 250 and he said that was great. It would be our Christmas gift from them. Yippy!!! I go on to tell the kids about us going to MVMCP and about how much fun it is going to be. Telling them all the "extra" things that will happen. They are really loving just the thought of it. I had figured we would most likely do this on Sunday evening of our trip as we had no plans for that day. Great! Its set in stone. I just have to get the info and pass it on to them! Fast forward a month or so... our Second Disney conversation after the initial telling dad. I let dad know that the tickets are now on sale, what date we are looking at, and everything he would need to know to get us our Christmas gift... the tickets. This is where I get a surprise. Keep in mind I have already broken the news to the kids and they are so excited. Anyway, dad goes on to tell me that he and his wife have talked and they aren't going to buy the tickets now. I couldn't believe it. Yes, I know... I never should have told the kids. I was just so excited that we were going to get to go to MVMCP. I am sure you remember that this is most likely a once in a lifetime trip for us... and even when we do make it back it will most likely not be at Christmas since Brenda starts school next year. So, my heart is broken at this point... not really so much for me but for the kids. I get so angry and wonder how he could do this. He had over the last month to let me know so I could not spill the beans. I suck it all up and end the call. Then I break down. I won't give him the pleasure of seeing what he has done to the Disney trip. Jon of course is working and I am alone. I pull it together for the kids and we spend the rest of the night playing... just a normal night for them. Bedtime comes and I sit down to see what can be done. I look over everything. There is no way I can pull that much from the budget. I have already at this point given up on my highlights and anything else I do to pamper me. There is no where to get the money. My dad has successfully ruined one aspect of my Disney trip. The next day I sit down and talk to Jon. I tell him all about dad "changing his mind". I am still heart broken for the kids. I ask if there is anyway we can get that into the budget. He so would love it but there just is no way. We are stretching things already to make everything happen. I so completely understand but just wanted to check with him. I keep pouring over the budget... and then I see some "fat" that can be trimmed... and this is where I need some advice.

The kids have 4 special things. For Gavin it is PL and T-rex (which I have a gift card for). For Brenda there is BBB and Wonderland tea party. If I cut all 3 of these things out, we can come up with the $175 I am sort in the budget. I have been going over this and over this. I know they are so excited for these 3 things...but they are so excited for the MVMCP too... Especially since the Disney 365 came our with the Halloween party segment. I actually caught Gavin and Brenda talking about this the other day when it came on. Brenda was telling Gavin that this is the kind of party they were going to at Disney... only it was better because it was Christmas. I actually had to walk into the other room and let some tears roll down my cheek.

So, there is my dilema. What would you experienced Disers do? I just think that no matter what I cancel the kids are the ones getting hurt.

So...the award for the biggest jerk in this CrAzY family goes to my dad for ruining our chance to go to MVMCP. (Please forgive me for calling my dad a jerk, but it still hurts).

 

[jenseib]

I say keep the PL, BB, and tea party. These things are awesome. Well I have only seen 2 of them with Claire, but I think those things are better. I hear the MVCP is great, but you can see most of it during the day as well.
If you want, I can send you some links to ways to make a few extra buck at home. I do them for extra money, and it helps. Every dime counts.
Also do you have anything you can list on ebay or craigs list? You could make a few extra bucks here and there with that as well.
One last thing, save cans and recycle them for money. You don't have alot of time now, so you won't make much, but it will help.
Claire has been saving cans for a year now for extra spending money.

 

[Tinkermom76]

I agree... what a jerk

They may not know they are missing the Christmas party since there is so much Christmas stuff at MK anyway. I don't think (having been to it) that it is worth giving up the other things. We had fun but to the kids a parade is a parade and the one on TV on Christmas day is better and has things that are not in the party parade. You can get Hot Chocolate and cookies anytime and if you really wanna see holiday Wishes head over to the Poly and watch it from the beach. The pipe in the music and I think it is a great view.

Also you can see the castle lighting ceremony every day at 6:30pm

I think I just talked myself out of doing the party

 

[jenseib]

Have you looked into being in the parade taping? I know there is a way to apply, but not sure of the details. That might be something to try.