Take Me To Neverland_Sept. 2016 PTR

[Mollydolly334]

I'm here!! Wow, our trip schedules are almost identical! You'll love CBR. It is a beautiful, relaxing resort and really screams "vacation!" That being said, definitely splurge for YC in the future, my family LOVES it there.

I'm so incredibly sorry to hear about your daughter, Emma. She sounds like an amazing kid. I think it's wonderful that you are still carrying on with your vacation for Ashlyn. This will be a great surprise for her and give you all memories to last a lifetime

 

[ariane37]

Glad you got everything you wanted FP-wise! I'm not looking forward to making mine in Sept., I much preferred making them at midnight. Oh well, I'll adjust!
I also feel you on wanting to do RD but the rest of your family, not so much. I don't like waking up early and neither do my boys, but DH is always up by 6-6:30 and I of course understand the importance of RD. On our trip last Thanksgiving I decided to do it how the boys wanted and we only did RD 2 days, but they quickly learned how important RD is during busy times. You'll be fine not doing it but for our Thanksgiving trip this year we'll be doing more RD's than not and if the boys don't want to get up, DH and I will enjoy some park time by ourselves

 

[kclark9830]

I'm here!! Wow, our trip schedules are almost identical! You'll love CBR. It is a beautiful, relaxing resort and really screams "vacation!" That being said, definitely splurge for YC in the future, my family LOVES it there.

I'm so incredibly sorry to hear about your daughter, Emma. She sounds like an amazing kid. I think it's wonderful that you are still carrying on with your vacation for Ashlyn. This will be a great surprise for her and give you all memories to last a lifetime

Thanks! Yes, I definitely want to stay at YC in the future. Hopefully next year .

 

[kclark9830]

Glad you got everything you wanted FP-wise! I'm not looking forward to making mine in Sept., I much preferred making them at midnight. Oh well, I'll adjust!
I also feel you on wanting to do RD but the rest of your family, not so much. I don't like waking up early and neither do my boys, but DH is always up by 6-6:30 and I of course understand the importance of RD. On our trip last Thanksgiving I decided to do it how the boys wanted and we only did RD 2 days, but they quickly learned how important RD is during busy times. You'll be fine not doing it but for our Thanksgiving trip this year we'll be doing more RD's than not and if the boys don't want to get up, DH and I will enjoy some park time by ourselves

I agree, I liked making them at midnight better (just for the sake of my sleep schedule!). But making them at 6am actually seemed to work out better for me. There were tons of times available for all of the rides, whereas last time we went, even at midnight, I had to really pick and choose between not-so-great times for me. But it might have been more that 7DMT had just opened up, and we were also vying for an Anna and Elsa FP. Now things have settled down a bit, perhaps?

 

[kclark9830]

SHOPPING FUN!​

Over the weekend we took a short trip to Pigeon Forge, TN. It was a chance to really just get away for a couple days and be together. It was both really hard (going away without Emma) and really nice (just relaxing and having fun). And while we were there we went to the Disney outlet store. Score! I found a Belle shirt that I really liked (please excuse the messy closet in the background), as well as a Cinderella tee shirt. I also bought Ashlyn lots of tees for our trip. And! What I'm most excited about is that I bought us matching Mickey/Minnie tee shirts for Micheal, Ashlyn, and myself. We've never done a matching shirt kind of thing, and Micheal liked the idea for this trip. So yay! They're the American themed shirts in the picture. I may wear the Cinderella shirt for the Halloween party with the Cinderella ears I got for Ashlyn earlier. Or, thanks to one of the other PTR I read, I may try making my own Belle ears and wearing them with the Belle shirt. We'll see!

I also bought a pair of Chaco's athletic sandals from the Birkenstock outlet store there. I'm excited to start breaking them in to wear in the parks!

 

[kclark9830]

JAMMIN' TO SOME DISNEY TUNES
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Yesterday, I got two fantastic CD's in the mail that I'm super excited about. One is the Lilo and Stitch soundtrack, and the other is Disney's Where Magic Lives CD, which features soundtracks from various rides. The perfect music to listen to as we lead up to our trip.

I'm also excited because I worked on making some Minnie ears and I think they turned out pretty good! I ended up spending about $7 total between all three pairs, so I'm pretty pleased with myself. When you look closely, you can definitely tell they're handmade, but hey, for roughly $2 I am more than happy!

That's all for today. I haven't bought our MNSSHP tickets yet just because I'm nervous about it. There's only one party while we're there, and I'm afraid of spending the money then it raining all night. I know other people attend the party in the rain, but hubby would NEVER want to do that. So, even though I'd rather go ahead and buy them now to book FP's, I think it'll be better to wait until that week when we have a better idea of the rain. Not what I want to do, but it'll be OK.

 

[Mollydolly334]

Ahh, you jumped on the Chaco train!! What color did you get?? Hopefully they work out great

 

[ariane37]

Your ears look adorable! I would love to try making some but I screw up everything and anything creative that I try lol. I'll have to stick with buying mine there or off Etsy

I also love Disney outlets more than Disney stores, and tend to find more unique things there for some reason. There's an outlet about 35 minutes from me that I really need to get to before DH and I take our quick trip next month! And speaking of DH he's a huge fan of Chaco's. His BIL has been wearing them for years and then a couple years ago while looking for a good, comfortable pair of sandals he decided to try them and hasn't looked back.

 

[kclark9830]

Ahh, you jumped on the Chaco train!! What color did you get?? Hopefully they work out great

Unfortunately the store didn't have any of the bright colors I wanted...but I still LOVE these shoes. I'm so glad I bought them! Mine are a blue/purple combo. They have the thick straps rather than the skinnier, strappier straps.

 

[kclark9830]

Your ears look adorable! I would love to try making some but I screw up everything and anything creative that I try lol. I'll have to stick with buying mine there or off Etsy

I also love Disney outlets more than Disney stores, and tend to find more unique things there for some reason. There's an outlet about 35 minutes from me that I really need to get to before DH and I take our quick trip next month! And speaking of DH he's a huge fan of Chaco's. His BIL has been wearing them for years and then a couple years ago while looking for a good, comfortable pair of sandals he decided to try them and hasn't looked back.

It was so fun reading about your last minute trip! How exciting . And I was proud of myself with those ears after the tutu fiasco (ha!).

 

[kclark9830]

Packing, weddings, and beach trips...oh my!

It's been a busy couple weeks, but busy is good in my opinion. My husband's brother is getting married in a week and a half, and Ashlyn is one of the flower girls. I've got her dress and shoes all ready, and now I've got to find a flower crown for her to wear in her hair. I'll actually probably make one, but we'll see how it goes. Going to the store later today! Also, last week hubby's job sent him to the gulf coast to do some work. So, Ashlyn and I tagged along and played the beach bum for a few days. Confession: I don't love the beach. I think it's boring. But! It was a nice, low-expense trip thanks to hubby's job footing the bill. I have no complaints!

Now, on to Disney things. Our trip is in 40 days! Yippee! I've been messing with my camera to make sure I remember how to use it properly to catch great Disney photos. I've also been reading about packing light so that everything can fit in carry on bags. Today I did a test run to see if I could actually pack a week's worth of adult clothes in a backpack. Well, I did it. I'm a bit shocked by it, but I did it. I was nervous because the lady in the article I read brought thin tees and short running shorts. Well, I don't really wear those kinds of clothes. So, I thought my stuff probably wouldn't work for the stack-n-roll method of packing. But I was wrong! I'm thinking now that I'll probably do my clothes and Ashlyn's clothes this way, and hubby can pack his in the regular suitcase, that way we'll have plenty of extra room in the suitcase for anything we might buy on the trip. At least, I'll do some combination of those things. I'm not totally sold on the necessity of doing it this way. There's the possibility of lost luggage, but if hubby's suitcase is with the luggage, and it gets lost, what's he supposed to do? Yet, he insists on always packing his own bag and I know he will have zero interest in trying to fit everything into a carry on. (here's a secret; regardless of him being a man he always brings twice as much luggage as I do ) What I'm saying is, if we're not ALL going to do carry on only, is there a point in any of us doing it? Why not just pack regularly and bring a carry on with our bathing suits and one change of clothes? Anyone have an opinion on this?

Our plans are mostly solid at this point. The trip has been paid in full, online check in has been completed, and now we just wait anxiously (not too anxiously, as we do have the wedding to look forward to, and Ashlyn starts 1st grade very soon). I do keep changing around our ADR's. I got to thinking about departure day and the fact that we'll probably go to Disney Springs for a couple hours, so I grabbed an ADR for T-Rex. And as I looked at the menu for Coral Reef I realized Ashlyn probably won't eat from their kids menu, so I made a Chefs de France ADR instead. I'm also trying to find a good rezzie for a MK restaurant on MNSSHP day, at 4 or 4:15, but so far there's nothing available that I'm interested in. I'm not giving up just yet .

Did I mention that my birthday is the Wednesday we'll be at the World? Well, it is. It'll be HS day. I plan to eat a great big funnel cake to celebrate (every summer I insist that the one thing I want on our vacation--wherever we go--is a funnel cake, then I forget to actually get one). It seems like one time I saw that you could get these disgustingly delicious funnel cakes with ice cream on top, at HS. Anyone know if this is correct, or if I'm remembering totally wrong? Anywhoo, that's all for now. See ya real soon!​

 

[CaseFace5]

Hi there! I'm following along from another PTR! I leave a few days after you return so it will be fun to countdown together! I am also going to attempt to make a tutu so I can't wait to hear your tips/tricks! Love your plans so far!

 

[kpearl]

We talked it over and agreed on Caribbean Beach Resort, and instead of going Sept. 4-7 we will be going Sept. 4-10.​

9/4 - Arrival day, Magic Kingdom - Eat at Tony's Town Square for supper (I've never eaten here, but my sister is a fan, and I like almost any try at Italian food; also, I like Lady and the Tramp). I will try for FP+ for Mine Train, Peter Pan, and the M&G with Rapunzel

I hope to get FP+'s for the safari, Dinosaur, and Expedition Everest (at least for most of the grown ups, the kids might end up with something different)

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so I made a Chefs de France ADR instead. I'm also trying to find a good rezzie for a MK restaurant on MNSSHP day, at 4 or 4:15, but so far there's nothing available that I'm interested in. I'm not giving up just yet .​

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First I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to you and your family for the loss of you beautiful girl. I hope this trip provides a lot of healing for all of you. I'm sure your sweet little girl will be there with you in spirit, celebrating your family trip with everyone

I stayed at CBR in 2011. It was my 1st "adult" trip alone with my DF - he had just graduated college at that time, I still had 1 more year. It was recommended to us by family, and I'm so, so, so glad we stayed there. We actually originally booked our September Disneymoon there! (You're leaving the day of our wedding!), but after finding out about Dave's DVC rental and some family members who used it & raved about it, we cancelled CBR and are now staying at Poly. If you guys don't mind a little bit of walking request Jamaica as your hotel block. You can walk along the small pond/lake there and through the "jungle" bridge & pathway to the cafeteria if you plan on doing some breakfasts there and grabbing the bus by the lobby. Also for each hotel block they have their own bus so if that isn't your thing you can just go right out the door and wait for it also. I also loved the pool there and no shame, went down the water slide quite a few times myself!

Tony's is a staple for my family. We eat there pretty much every time we go. The last time (which was 2014) was kind of meh... it was so overcrowded and I swear they were handing us our bill before we even got a bite of our dinner. But out of 4+ times of eating there this was my only bad experience. Also, I'm not sure if your daughter is bringing an autograph book but you can ask your waiter/waitress for Lady & Tramp's signature and they bring it out back to be stamped with their paws. It's so cute! Also, outside the restaurant their paw prints are imprinted in the cement. Cute photo op!

Dinosaur is supposed to be down in September - same as BTMRR and I think there is another ride but I can't remember it off the top of my head. I'm bummed!!

You'll like Chef's de France! Their warm baguette with butter when you first get there, ohhh my goodness. I brought my very picky eater cousin with me (plus her mom & my mom) and she even loved the food there. I believe I got a steak meal with a veggie and mashed potatoes, I also got creme brulee and I had some of my mom's lobster bisque. Such good food! There's the cutest silhouette cart right outside France near the water. It is fairly inexpensive (I think the silhouette, which you get 2, and the frame if you'd like that were under $20?) but we got them done and they are the cutest mementos! I gave one to both my mom & my DF's mom and they cried. The detail they can cut out (like baby hairs and even individual eyelashes) is out of this world! We plan on doing it again during our Dismoon!

 

[kclark9830]

Hi there! I'm following along from another PTR! I leave a few days after you return so it will be fun to countdown together! I am also going to attempt to make a tutu so I can't wait to hear your tips/tricks! Love your plans so far!

Great to have you!

 

[kclark9830]

​

First I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to you and your family for the loss of you beautiful girl. I hope this trip provides a lot of healing for all of you. I'm sure your sweet little girl will be there with you in spirit, celebrating your family trip with everyone

I stayed at CBR in 2011. It was my 1st "adult" trip alone with my DF - he had just graduated college at that time, I still had 1 more year. It was recommended to us by family, and I'm so, so, so glad we stayed there. We actually originally booked our September Disneymoon there! (You're leaving the day of our wedding!), but after finding out about Dave's DVC rental and some family members who used it & raved about it, we cancelled CBR and are now staying at Poly. If you guys don't mind a little bit of walking request Jamaica as your hotel block. You can walk along the small pond/lake there and through the "jungle" bridge & pathway to the cafeteria if you plan on doing some breakfasts there and grabbing the bus by the lobby. Also for each hotel block they have their own bus so if that isn't your thing you can just go right out the door and wait for it also. I also loved the pool there and no shame, went down the water slide quite a few times myself!

Tony's is a staple for my family. We eat there pretty much every time we go. The last time (which was 2014) was kind of meh... it was so overcrowded and I swear they were handing us our bill before we even got a bite of our dinner. But out of 4+ times of eating there this was my only bad experience. Also, I'm not sure if your daughter is bringing an autograph book but you can ask your waiter/waitress for Lady & Tramp's signature and they bring it out back to be stamped with their paws. It's so cute! Also, outside the restaurant their paw prints are imprinted in the cement. Cute photo op!

Dinosaur is supposed to be down in September - same as BTMRR and I think there is another ride but I can't remember it off the top of my head. I'm bummed!!

You'll like Chef's de France! Their warm baguette with butter when you first get there, ohhh my goodness. I brought my very picky eater cousin with me (plus her mom & my mom) and she even loved the food there. I believe I got a steak meal with a veggie and mashed potatoes, I also got creme brulee and I had some of my mom's lobster bisque. Such good food! There's the cutest silhouette cart right outside France near the water. It is fairly inexpensive (I think the silhouette, which you get 2, and the frame if you'd like that were under $20?) but we got them done and they are the cutest mementos! I gave one to both my mom & my DF's mom and they cried. The detail they can cut out (like baby hairs and even individual eyelashes) is out of this world! We plan on doing it again during our Dismoon!

Thanks for all the tips! And big congrats on your wedding!!!

 

[ariane37]

Can I say how much I liked reading that you don't love the beach? I don't either!! I will even be so bold as to say I hate it I think it's INCREDIBLY boring. I don't like going in any water but if I must, I'll only go in pools. I love reading so reading a book while sitting on the beach is an option, except I get too hot.....and won't go in the water.......and I can only read so long in one sitting. We took the boys to Va. Beach a few times when they were smaller and it wasn't horrible but I'm very glad they aren't huge beach fans, either.

Hmm, the packing That's a hard one for me because I'm the worst packer ever. I take way too much and am not an organized packer at all. I've been thinking of trying packing cubes for our Nov. trip and also trying just carry-ons when DH and I go next month, which we've never managed to do before on an adults only trip. As you said, if you're checking one bag you may as well check another, unless it'll cost you which depends on your airline. That's probably the first thing I'd check into.

Yay for spending your bday in Disney!! I do believe you can still get funnel cake in HS (I know you can at Sleep Hollow in MK). I'd check the menus at allears.net. just to see for sure and find out exactly where. That way if it's not available in HS anymore you can adjust your plans accordingly so you get your snack on your bday

Have a wonderful time at the wedding!

 

[kclark9830]

Can I say how much I liked reading that you don't love the beach? I don't either!! I will even be so bold as to say I hate it I think it's INCREDIBLY boring. I don't like going in any water but if I must, I'll only go in pools. I love reading so reading a book while sitting on the beach is an option, except I get too hot.....and won't go in the water.......and I can only read so long in one sitting. We took the boys to Va. Beach a few times when they were smaller and it wasn't horrible but I'm very glad they aren't huge beach fans, either.

Hmm, the packing That's a hard one for me because I'm the worst packer ever. I take way too much and am not an organized packer at all. I've been thinking of trying packing cubes for our Nov. trip and also trying just carry-ons when DH and I go next month, which we've never managed to do before on an adults only trip. As you said, if you're checking one bag you may as well check another, unless it'll cost you which depends on your airline. That's probably the first thing I'd check into.

Yay for spending your bday in Disney!! I do believe you can still get funnel cake in HS (I know you can at Sleep Hollow in MK). I'd check the menus at allears.net. just to see for sure and find out exactly where. That way if it's not available in HS anymore you can adjust your plans accordingly so you get your snack on your bday

Have a wonderful time at the wedding!

Great tip for checking menus! I'm going to do that today . Yes, the packing issue...we're flying Southwest so we get so many checked bags for free. I have a feeling we'll just be bringing the one carryon. We'll see!

 

[Ndusmama]

Wow we will be there around the same time. I also have a six year old girl. I am so sorry your oldest left this world early. I think a family trip to kind of regroup and just be a family is a wonderful idea. Now for tutu making did you try just tying knots onto elastic? It doesn't usually come out fluffy. How did you make the headbands? And how did you roll the clothes like that?

 

[kclark9830]

Wow we will be there around the same time. I also have a six year old girl. I am so sorry your oldest left this world early. I think a family trip to kind of regroup and just be a family is a wonderful idea. Now for tutu making did you try just tying knots onto elastic? It doesn't usually come out fluffy. How did you make the headbands? And how did you roll the clothes like that?

Thanks for joining in! For the tutu, I tied knots around ribbon (rather than elastic). I think I cut my pieces of tule too short, which made it poofier than I would like. For the headbands I just watched a few tutorials on YouTube. They made it super easy sounding. My ears didn't come out as nicely as the video, but I'm still happy with them! For the clothes, I stacked all the shirts on top of each other, then folded over each sleeve section, then rolled from bottom to top. It came out very well. The bottoms were harder because I had so many different lengths of bottoms (shorts, capris, skirts). But it was still the same general idea.

 

[kclark9830]

Can I say how much I liked reading that you don't love the beach? I don't either!! I will even be so bold as to say I hate it I think it's INCREDIBLY boring. I don't like going in any water but if I must, I'll only go in pools. I love reading so reading a book while sitting on the beach is an option, except I get too hot.....and won't go in the water.......and I can only read so long in one sitting. We took the boys to Va. Beach a few times when they were smaller and it wasn't horrible but I'm very glad they aren't huge beach fans, either.

Hmm, the packing That's a hard one for me because I'm the worst packer ever. I take way too much and am not an organized packer at all. I've been thinking of trying packing cubes for our Nov. trip and also trying just carry-ons when DH and I go next month, which we've never managed to do before on an adults only trip. As you said, if you're checking one bag you may as well check another, unless it'll cost you which depends on your airline. That's probably the first thing I'd check into.

Yay for spending your bday in Disney!! I do believe you can still get funnel cake in HS (I know you can at Sleep Hollow in MK). I'd check the menus at allears.net. just to see for sure and find out exactly where. That way if it's not available in HS anymore you can adjust your plans accordingly so you get your snack on your bday

Have a wonderful time at the wedding!

I did end up checking the menus and couldn't find anywhere in HS that sells funnel cakes. Ah, well. We'll be at MK the day before and after, so I should have no trouble getting one on one of those days (OK, who am I kidding? I'm going to try getting one on both days! haha).