Taking a 14 hour roadtrip to take Princess Gianna to meet Prinsarella! SAD UPDATE

[Jenvenza]

Now you might be wondering who Prinsarella is. We have a beautiful 2 year old daughter, Gianna, who is obsessed with the princesses. And months ago Cinderella was her favorite. I told her she was a princess and her name was Cinderella. Well Gianna put the two together and started calling her Prinsarella and now the name has stuck. We all call her that now without even thinking about it!

Now on with the cast. Things are still up in the air about who all is coming, but I will start with the ones we know for sure are! We are going February 6-12 and where we are staying is still up in the air. More on all that later!

There is me - Jen - lover of all things Disney. I went to either Disneyland or Disney World the first 5 years of my life and then didnt go back until I was 26 and fell in love. Some of you might remember me from my TR last year. There was lots of missing luggage and Xanax involved on my part.

Gianna - who we all call G. Lover of anything Disney and especially all the princesses and Tinkerbell and Rosetta. Her favorite is Ariel, but she loves them all. She is high-spirited, hilarious, never forgets a things and is the love of our lives. She has changed a ton since we went to Disney last September.

This is G last year at Disney meeting one of her favorites, Aurora. And this one always makes me weepy.

Continued in next post!

 

[Jenvenza]

Next up is my mom - or Mimi as Gianna and the rest of us call her now. She loves Disney, but especially loves going with Gianna, so she is up for about anything! She is great to travel with! She is also a Travel Agent so her discounts don't hurt anything either!

Last year it was me, my husband, G, and Mimi. My Dad, Pop Pop as he is known now, wasnt able to make it and he is the biggest Disney fan of them all! And he is coming this year! He loves to get up early, go get brealfast for everyone and be ready to go for ropedrop. I cannot imagine two better people to go with than my parents.

We still arent sure if my husband will be able to make or if my sister and nephew will either! I will keep you posted - if anyone read this - if the situation changes.

So there you have it! The cast so far!

 

[Jenvenza]

Now, like I said before, G has grown so much since we took her last and I imagine this trip will be a little bit harder at her age. She was 13 months old when we took her last year and she will be 2 1/2 on this trip.

G last year.

And G a couple months ago. I have to download some new pics tonight, so I will show more recent ones tomorrow.

 

[Jenvenza]

We decided to drive to Disney this year all the way from Houston, Texas! My parents and I have done it before, but I think it could get a little difficult with G, but we are trying to save money and this is a good way to do it! Also, most of the xanax last year were because I hate flying and I am a nervous wreck the entire time.

We are either going to stay at Pop Century - which is where we stayed last time. Our first time ever at a value resort. And we really enjoyed it. Or at Port Orleans - hopefully the French Quarter. It isnt too much of a price difference with my mom's travel agent discount and since we are all staying in the same room, it turns out to be pretty cheap. Either place is fine with me, since we dont spend too much time at the resorts, just to sleep, so I am good with either.

 

[Jenvenza]

Now in an atempt to get people out of lurkerville, I have decided to post some pictures of G from our last Disney trip. I also think she is pretty adorable, so you will be seeing lots of pictures of her along the way!

Checking out her towel animal left by Mousekeeping.

Trying on Daddy's hat is always fun.

Taking her first ride on the Carpets with Mimi.

 

[Jenvenza]

G trying lemonade for the first time.

Just learning to walk and being her usual silly self.

Giving Pooh a kiss.

And then falling asleep in her clothes she was so exhausted from such a fun filled day!

 

[Jenvenza]

Now on to the intinerary! Pop Pop has always been the planner of all things Disney, and even though he still loves to do it, he has passed the torch to me. I love it and obviously got that from him. And since they have put out hours 180 days in advance now, I am in heaven!

Saturday, February 6 we will leave VERY early in the morning to start our long drive from Houston to Orlando! Hopefully G will do good in the car that long. We do have a DVD player in the car and it is stocked with all her favorite Disney movies to keep her occupied! We won't do much this day since we will get in around 5 or 6pm. Our plan is to go to the hotel, check in and then head over to DTD. Grab some food from earl of Sandwich, maybe a few treats from goofy's and get G a stuffed animal and head back and rest up!

Sunday, February 7 - Animal Kingdom - getting there in time for rope drop - because Pop Pop would have it no other way. They open at 9am, so I don't see that being a problem! We are at Disney anyway! So who wants to sleep in??? Not me!

With Gianna only going to be 2 1/2 at the time, we figure we will head bak to the resort after lunch and either take a nap or a swim and give her a rest. It were just me and my dad we could stay at the parks all day, but with little ones, you have to give them a rest or there will be meltdowns!

That evening we are heading over to the Magic Kingdom! It is an EMH night and the park stays open until 12am, so we will get in as much as possible.

And that is the first two days! I havent figured out food yet, because we arent sure if we are getting the dining plan again or which one if we decided to do it.

Day 3 and 4 in the next post!

 

[Jenvenza]

Wow - still nothing?? Hmm....I guess I will wait.

 

[josh0208]

Wow...you have a great family! Our family is going in April 2010. We were contemplating driving (from Milwaukee, Wisconsin) due to airline prices but we were able to find accepable airline costs! Thanks goodness. There will be a 6 month with us so it would have been a very crazy drive!

I also LOVE planning our vacations which makes it easy on the other 10 people going in our group! They just keep throwing ideas my way and I do all the research and planning. Very fun.

Just called Disney today since we are less than 180 days out and booked the Albatross Cruise for 2 of the boys in our group. Now I'm booking a fishing trip for DH, DS and sister.

I made a chain link countdown calendar. Each link represents a week. The chain was all the way to the floor when we first started planning but now is half way gone already! With the holidays approaching quite quickly, the time is going to go so fast!

Have a great time planning!

 

[snapppyd]

I'm so excited to see you back!!!!!!!!! I loved your last trip report! G has grown so much, and she reminds me of two of my grand-nieces.

We just booked 4 nights in December for my birthday. I'm so happy for all of us!




eta: we just got a great deal on plane tickets: $171 round trip, nonstop from NY to Fla!

 

[faerieprincess]

i'm here too and giving you a *bump*! i didn't think Gianna could get any cuter than she was last year...i was wrong! She's adorable!

 

[Jenvenza]

Thanks for the bumps!

And I am so glad there are a couple of you here and that you read my TR last year! This gives me motivation to keep this PTR alive!

More to come soon!

 

[jordanyosh]

cute pix! G is growing up!

Driving from Houston? Oy. How many hours is that again? better than flying if you're afraid of flying...

We'll be at Epcot on the 7th and then maybe MK for EMH. Super Bowl is on that night.

I'm at Pop as well. Look for the crazy, picture taking, Jap/American guy.

 

[Jenvenza]

cute pix! G is growing up!

Driving from Houston? Oy. How many hours is that again? better than flying if you're afraid of flying...

We'll be at Epcot on the 7th and then maybe MK for EMH. Super Bowl is on that night.

I'm at Pop as well. Look for the crazy, picture taking, Jap/American guy.

Thank you! Yes, she is growing up fast!

The drive is about 14-15 hours. I would rather fly and get there in a mere 2-3 hours, but with airfare the way it has been, this seems to be a better option!

I will keep an eye out for ya! Hopefully we can meet up for a few minutes while we are both there!

 

[MickeyisBeast]

I'm joining in
G is too cute! I'm really enjoying your PTR and your plans look great!

 

[Jenvenza]

Okay, so here are a few pics from Gianna in the last month. She is getting so big and she is so excited about our upcoming trip. She has a love for all things Jonas right now and we got an Avon catalog last week and she found a lipgloss - lipstuff as she calls it - with Jonas on it and she wanted her picture taken with it.

She said "Say cheese, Jonas!"

And of course she wanted a picture of her kissing Jonas - even though her daddy wasnt thrilled about it.

First pony ride.

She also loves makeup. Her after she tried on some glitter and clip-on earrings from her new Tinkerbell makeup set. Again - Daddy not so happy.

After a little more makeup....

 

[Jenvenza]

Here she is in her Halloween costume. She was a beautiful Belle!

Trying it on a couple weeks before Halloween. I had to make a few adjustments in the straps.

I told her to look happy she got the dress and she did this....

And on Halloween. She kept telling everyone she was a princess and asking if they liked her dress. She gots lots of compliments.

Daddy and G

I dress up as Snow White every year and she addressed me as Snow White for the rest of the night.

Givng Snow White a kiss.

Meeting the Rainforest Cafe frog - not sure what his name is - or if he has one.

 

[Jenvenza]

And trying on the Snow White wig - Jordan, I thought you might like the face she is making in this one!

 

[snapppyd]

Thank you for these pics, they made me smile!!!!! She is so beautiful, and I can't believe how big she got since the Disney trip!

 

[Jenvenza]

Thank you for these pics, they made me smile!!!!! She is so beautiful, and I can't believe how big she got since the Disney trip!

You are welcome! They make me smile, too!

Yes, it is ridiculous how much she has grown in the last year. There is a big difference between ages 1 and 2! She was still a little baby last trip and now she is this little person! Having conversations with you and being extremely silly most of the time.