Taking the Kids (8, 5, and 2)... UPDATE!! 5/24

[apirateslife4us!]

Hi! Thanks for reading my pre-trip report!! This is our family's second trip to Disney World, and I'm too excited to wait any longer... it's trip report time!!

For our first trip, I didn't do a very thorough trip report... I didn't even write it until three years after the fact! This time I'm starting early

The Super Secret!!!
Our flight leaves in the evening. So far, we've kept the trip a Super Secret! Our plan? After dinner tell the kids, "Hey guys, after we clean up these dinner dishes, how about we go to Disney World?"

Introduction Time!!!

I'm Daisy (let's say) and I do the planning!

• I'm a stay at home mom, the kind who is NOT a supermom and is still slowly coming to terms with that.
• I LOVE all things Disney!
• Also, I'm the biggest bookworm in the world. I L.O.V.E books.

DH, let's call him Donald.

• He quacks a lot but I think deep down he loves Mickey
• He's a great dad and awesome husband.
• He's also a HUGE Chicago Bears and L.A. Lakers fan. Seriously. Football and basketball widows, at least we have the summer

We are celebrating our 12-year-anniversary in Walt Disney World!! Will it be a romantic getaway for two? At the Polynesian Resort maybe? Nah, we're doing it family-style and on a budget... well, Donald thinks we're breaking the bank but he doesn't realize how scaled back this trip is compared with what I'd had envisioned in my mind!!

So, here they are, reaping the benefits of our big anniversary trip... the kiddos!!

Our eight-year-old daughter, let's call her Tink again.
She was five-years old for our first trip to WDW. She still talks about maybe-someday getting to go back to Disney World! She remembers details from that trip that I'd completely forgotten about!! She's been on a lot of family vacations over the years, and this was her absolute favorite... I believe her indoctrination as a die-hard Disney-lover is complete.

Our five-year-old son, and we're changing his name to Buzz Lightyear, after his favorite ride.
He was almost three when we went to WDW and remembers a few things about it, most notable Chef Mickey's and the Buzz Lightyear ride. He is also a thorough fan of Disney, my job as a mother is almost complete!

Our two-year-old son (will be three just after our trip), and we'll call him Lightening McQueen for a variety of reasons, particularly his incredible speed.
I was pregnant with Lightening during our first trip, so I think he's got Disney-Love in his blood... his number one hero is Mickey from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and I feel confidant that after this trip, he too will join his siblings as a die-hard Disney-fan.

And there's the cast!!

Here's some more info on our trip:

We will be on the the Disney Dining Plan. We loved it last time and it's the big splurge for the trip.

No parkhoppers We didn't have them last time and didn't miss them.

We're staying at the Pop Century Resort. This was our hotel last time and it worked great! After consulting with Disboard members, I've concluded that the, "if it ain't broke, don't fix-it" rule does apply in this case.

We're staying for seven-days, and our flight arrives at five in the morning on our check-in day!!


The Current Debates:

1. I want to include Typhoon Lagoon in our trip, because it was such a hit last time. Donald doesn't want to spend any more money and does not want to include Typhoon Lagoon. He thinks it's good enough we are getting a trip to Disney World at all. I'm still trying to convince him... so far, no bright ideas

2. I keep trying to convince Donald to let me get one of those backpack-leash things for little Lightening, but Donald doesn't want him on a leash Our little Lightening has a much more boisterous (let's be kind) and "rowdy" personality than Buzz, and I'm already envisioning us chasing him through various theme parks as he tries to escape!! Me = Wits End!!!!!

Thanks for reading!! I'll update with our dining reservations and supposed plans soon

 

[apirateslife4us!]

The Supposed Itinerary!
Day 1: Arrival, Donald's Safari Breakfast and Animal Kingdom!


Have I mentioned that I still haven't "technically" added the Dining Plan yet? We are waiting to add it until just before our trip, because doing that keeps Donald happy, and I'm all in favor of a happy Donald! Also, I may not have mentioned that I "technically" already paid for Cinderella's Royal Table out of pocket, but shhh, let's keep that between you and me for now!

Now for the Plan!!

In case anyone's forgotten, we arrive in the Orlando airport on Wednesday June 16th at stupid o'clock. AKA, five in the morning.

I know what you're thinking. I KNOW. A five a.m. arrival with three young kids is a highly unbrilliant idea. But we were lured in by an extremely cheap flight and the prospect of a full day of vacation usage!! We're weak, people!! Will this blow up in our face? Maybe so! But I will not allow it to influence my planning, bwahahahaaa!!!

Okay, so we arrive at five a.m. Last time (2007 trip) we arrived at 9am and were registered with the hotel and ready to play by 11am. We got to Hollywood Studios around 11:45am. I'm using that timeline as a relative guide for planning our first day this time around!

What I've Planned So Far-

Wednesday:

**Arrive at 5am.

**Take the Magical Express, probably get to the Pop Century around 6-6:30am

**Register with the front desk, leave our bags and get our keys/ticket things.

**Change clothes and leave for Animal Kingdom around 7-7:30am.

**Have breakfast at Donald's Safari Breakfast with our 8am ADRs.

**Woo hoo all day long!

**Share two CS lunches at either Yak and Yeti's or Pizzafari, depending on where we are in the park.

**By around 1pm... crash.

**Pray for an early check-in call from the magical people at Pop Century. (This happened last time. Yay Pop Century!).

**If Pop Century doesn't give us a call by then, weep for a bit, then watch either Nemo or Lion King show to get off our feet for a bit.

**Head back to the Pop Century around 3pm for check-in (unless we're already there... we shall see!)

**Sleep off the hottest part of the day.

**Wake up whenever, share 2 CS dinners from the Pop Century food court.

**Relax by the pool in the evening!!

**Yay, we're in WDW!!

I'm curious to see how the ACTUAL day compares with my vision

I'll post our plans for Day Two tomorrow... Magic Kingdom Part 1!

Thanks to any readers out there!!

 

[apirateslife4us!]

Squee!!! Sorry, I just had to share this somewhere! My dining plans finally clicked into place! I THINK I've finally got it!!

Wednesday: Breakfast at Donald's Safari Breakfast
Thursday: Breakfast at Crystal Palace
Friday: Dinner at 'Ohana
Saturday: Dinner at Sci-Fi
Sunday: Lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table
Monday: Dinner at Biergarten (I keep changing this one to breakfast at Park Fare!! Grrrr, I can't decide)
Tuesday: Breakfast at Chef Mickey's

Yayyyy!!! I'm really happy everything finally came together!!

Okay, my supposed plans for "Day 2" will be up tomorrow!

 

[apirateslife4us!]

The Supposed Itinerary Continued!
Day 2: Magic Kingdom and Crystal Palace

The way my ADRs worked out, Crystal Palace fell on an EMH morning You'd think I'd have learned my lesson from our first trip. Last time I planned nearly every park to fall on an EMH morning! For the most part... and ESPECIALLY on Magic Kingdom day, this seemed to backfire This time I'm trying to avoid EMH mornings and focus on rope-drop, but anyway, it didn't work out with this particular ADR. Donald really enjoyed Crystal Palace last time and it was on his must-do list, so there ya have it.

Snack Foods!

Last time we wished we had more munchies in the room, but didn't want to pay out of pocket etc etc. I've seen other Disboard members mention that they send themselves packages, so that's what we're trying this time around. We'll pack a box full of our favorite snacks and mail it to the Pop Century to keep in the room, that way if we want a bite to eat we don't have to use up our snack credits or spend extra money

Now for the plan!!

Being that our ADR is for 10:15am, I reeeeally want to make it to the Magic Kingdom before 8am! This might happen... I'm not saying it will, but as I dream about this trip I can imagine it will!!

Thursday:

** Get up early and rouse the troops. Have a snack from the "stash" we plan on mailing to our resort.

** Make it to the Magic Kingdom by 8am...? Maybe? Last time we got there around 8:20pm and it was already packed in Fantasyland.

** AVOID FANTASYLAND!! We plan on returning to Magic Kingdom on a non-EMH morning. We will attempt a rope-drop Fantasyland morning on THAT day.

** Donald heads to Tomorrowland while I grab fastpasses to Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain (two fastpasses for each, using Buzz and my tickets too).

** Hopefully we have major fun in Tomorrowland.

** Breakfast at Crystal Palace at 10:15am.

** DH and Tink use the fastpasses while the boys and I do low-key things like ride the riverboat and the Swiss Family Treehouse.

** Meet up and check our energy levels. Probably return to the resort around 1pm.

** Swim, rest, have a snack.

** Return to Magic Kingdom for a counter service dinner. WHERE? I don't know!!! I've heard good things about Cosmic Rays maybe?

** Play in Adventureland and wherever else until we're ready to call it a night. (Hopefully we finished Tomorrowland in the morning)

** If we stay for fireworks, AVOID MAIN STREET AT ALL COSTS. The crowds were horrifying last time

That's the plan! Of course, things will be slightly derailed if we don't make it to the park early, but hey, we'll still be at Disney World!

 

[apirateslife4us!]

Updates on the planning:

I am COMPLETELY second guessing my game plan

First, my over-obsessing brain second-guesses...
The Itinerary!
Originally Donald wanted to start at Epcot, but then I got ADRs to Donald's Safari Breakfast on our arrival day and it seems to work out fine that way too. Only now our Epcot day is our last full day at WDW.

Anyway, I keep going on the dining website to see what else pops up (nothing, naturally). I wonder if I should try for Sci-Fi on our last full day and make Epcot be on Saturday instead, or even keep trying Donald's on our last full day and bring Epcot back to our check-in day. But mostly I think I should stop worrying and remember the old adage, don't look a gift-ADR in the mouth. I was lucky enough to get all the restaurants we wanted, and that should be enough.

Next in my over-obsessing brain...
restaurant choices for Epcot!

*ding ding ding* The contenders step into the ring...
Park Fare VERSUS Biergarten!!!
Our Epcot day CONTINUES to beguile me. I keep going back and forth between keeping our Park Fare ADR or our Biergarten ADR. The kids would like Park Fare better than Biergarten, but that seems like a lot of breakfasts... and plus we'll already be in Epcot and it'll be easier to get to Biergarten... then again, Park Fare is just a monorail ride away from Epcot, and we've never seen the Grand Floridian... then again, we'll skip having a "foreign" dinner at Epcot if we do Park Fare, and I really like the idea of eating in a "country"... then again... I. Don't. Know.!

I'm kind of leaning toward Park Fare. I think. No no, definitely Biergarten. Oh forget it.

In other news... my over-obsessing brain can't convince Donald to agree with me!!
Yup, the debate continues over whether or not we go to Typhoon Lagoon. I want to. He doesn't. It's a tie. This kind of tie means the person who wants the extra thing (me) loses. It's true. It's like when one person in a couple wants to buy a new car. The other person has to agree, otherwise the tie goes to the non-wanting person. I can only keep trying to convince him... it doesn't look good.

Finally... another thing Donald won't agree on, but this one could land our child lost in the Zoo!! Or Disney World. Whatever. You know what I mean
Donald does not want his son walking around with a cute monkey backpack-leash thing. Or a leash of any kind. But our little Lightening is so fast and rambunctious, I am going to be a nervous wreck throughout our whole trip. Does Donald see the problem? No!! He thinks the kid will be fine but I say WHATEVER!! Sure, while Lightening's in the stroller he'll be fine, but he can't spend every waking second in that stroller! *sob sob* He's just like his sister was at that age, and she got lost at the zoo. NO JOKE. Let me tell you I practically had a heart attack. My stomach still hits the floor just remembering, and she wasn't half as fast as Lightening. Oh man... oh-man-oh-man we're going to end up on the news, I just know it

Tink getting lost at the zoo was such a huge mom-moment for me. I just don't understand why Donald can't give me this one. I mean, can't he think of my poor heart for goodness' sake? When Lightening is climbing the Epcot ball I'm going to cross my arms and give him the biggest I-Told-You-So ever

That's all for now people. More of my worrying-planning-worrying tomorrow!

 

[apirateslife4us!]

THE ULTIMATE PACKING LIST!!!!!
What am I forgetting?

I keep leaving half-finished lists on slips of paper all over the house... I figured this would be a good place to keep the OFFICIAL list. I'll edit and add to it as I think of more things

SUITCASE:

** 8 changes of clothes for each

** 4 sets of jammies for each

** Extra socks

** Second sets of shoes

** Extra bathing suits

** Goggles

** Dollar tree glow necklaces and glow sticks

** Typhoon Lagoon mugs from last trip

** Light-up toys from last trip

** Sunblock (large bottle that won't get through security as a carryon)

** Nail clippers, tweezers, small scissors

** Deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, razors, shaving cream, shampoo, conditioner, hair gel, detangler spray, lotion

** Hair bands

** Extra pens for autograph books

** Ziploc baggies, small and large

** Ponchos (even if it doesn't rain, good for covering the stroller while we watch shows)

** A couple more Dollar Tree toys to be pulled out as needed, and for the flight back home


CARRYON/ADULT BACKPACKS:

** Cell phones, chargers

** Camera, extra memory cards, charger

** Wallets!!

** Snacks

** Hats

** Sunglasses

** Small sunblock, chapstick

** Small hand sanitizer bottles

** Wipeys

** Bandanas to wet down to help keep us cool

** Bandaids and first-aid stuff

** One change of clothes for each of us

** Bathing suits for each of us

** Tink's asthma inhaler and allergy medication

** Donald's allergy medication

** Benadryl, Tylenol, adult and child.

** Confirmation numbers for everything!!

** Maybe... the cute monkey backpack-leash for our little Lightening to wear? Still working on Donald...


KIDS' BACKPACKS:

** Books

** Coloring books, crayons

** Autograph books and large pens

** NEW Dollar Tree toys that will surprise and entertain

** Snacks

** Disposable camera for each


BRING WITH US ON THE PLANE:

** Awesome double stroller

** Kids' pillows

Pop Century here we come!!!

 

[apirateslife4us!]

The Itinerary Continued...
Day 3: Typhoon Lagoon *crosses fingers* Otherwise, Epcot.
Also, 'Ohana Dinner

I'm going to plan out a day at Typhoon Lagoon, because it's my pre-trip report, not Donald's after all *neeners*

The Plan!

** Wake up before the kids and zoom off the the Pop Century food court. Pick up two counter service breakfasts.

** Get into our swimsuits and go to Typhoon Lagoon!

** Let's see... Donald will take Tink to the big rides while I hang out with the boys at the kids' area.

** The boys and I will do the lazy river at some point, then hit the wave pool and wait for Donald and Tink to meet up with us.

** Lunch!! I have no idea what counter service there is or what would eat. I think we used snack credits last time because our dinner ADR was pretty early. This time our dinner is late! We'll have to use two counter services to tide us over... I'll have to research where at.

** I don't know what we'll do after lunch. Maybe more Typhoon Lagoon time? Maybe go right back to the hotel? I suppose we won't take much longer to leave.

** Let's say we're cleaned up, rested, and ready to go by five or six!

** Our ADR for 'Ohana is for 8:20pm. The kids loved spending time at the Polynesian last time, so hopefully we'll get there early enough to enjoy it again.

The Fireworks Plan!!

Last time we took about an hour to eat at 'Ohana, so maybe we'll be done here a little after 9pm. WISHES starts at 10pm, but rather than go over to Magic Kingdom to watch it, we're hoping to find a spot at the Poly beach and watch from there! The crowds last time were NOT fun at the park, and I've heard that the music is played on the Poly beach, and that the view is pretty. I REALLY hope we manage this plan!! It will be interesting to see if this a good way to watch the fireworks after all

** After the fireworks, we'll let the kids pick either monorail or boat back to the shuttle bus area, and then head back to Pop Century.

I am so super-duper curious about our actual trip!!!! I hope everything works out!

P.S.- If this turns out to be an Epcot day, I'm sure it'll be great!

 

[apirateslife4us!]

Our Never-Been-Done List!

I don't know if we'll REALLY do them all, but here is the list of rides and attractions we hope to see and do, that we missed or didn't know about on our first trip to Disney World.

Magic Kingdom:

**Country Bear Jamboree
**The Barnstormer
**Stitch's Great Escape
**Cinderella's Royal Table

Hollywood Studios:

**Finding the Key in the Muppets Show line
**Lights, Motors, Car Stunt Show
**Indiana Jones Stunt Show
**Studio Backlot Tour
**Honey I Shrunk the Kids Play Area
**The Great Movie Ride
**Fantasmic

Epcot

**Taste different Cokes at Club Cool
**Turtle Talk
**Mission Space Training Lab
**Test Track
**The Three Caballeros
**Maelstrom
**Visit the hedge maze in the UK

Animal Kingdom

**Triceratop Spin
**Primevil Whirl
**Finding Nemo Show
**Kali River Rapids
**Jungle Trek

General Experiences

**Goofy's Candy Company (if we make it to Downtown Disney)
**Watching Wishes from the Poly
**Get a wake-up call from Mickey

I hope I think of more things to add!

 

[mansionterror]

Hi Daisy! I am here.

Wow you have an EARLY arrival time! I hope you get in your room by 1:00, I would be tired by then.

 

[apirateslife4us!]

A reader!! Oh wow, thanks! LOL, seriously, I'm speechless! Yay!!!!!



As for the early arrival... tell me about it!!! Geeeeeeeze, I don't think I really know what I'm getting myself into. I'm sure my POST-trip-report will be very revealing!

Thanks again for reading! I had come to terms with the idea that I was writing this all for myself!

 

[apirateslife4us!]

Itinerary continued...
Day 4: Hollywood Studios and Sci-Fi for Dinner!



I mentioned this before... I have two ongoing debates with Donald. The update:

Still no headway on Typhoon Lagoon, other than the highly unhelpful, "Oh, did you hit the Lotto today? What else should we add to this already-expensive trip?" As for the leash, I think my constant subtle hinting is working! He said, "We'll see." Which is a BIG improvement to his earlier response about me leashing his son. BEFORE YOU JUDGE, please read through my May 14th post, where I talk about losing Tink at the zoo. I will gladly accept that strangers might give me dirty looks and make snide comments about my child being treated like a dog, rather than LOSING my extremely energetic and wild Lightening in one of the parks! With my luck it'll be Animal Kingdom and gosh, he is a tasty-looking little guy

Okay okay, back to the subject.

The Plan!

Our fourth day at WDW will a Saturday at DHS!

** Sleep in a little today. We don't plan on taking a mid-day break on this day.

** Share 2 CS breakfasts in the room.

** Going at an easy-pace, I imagine we'll make it to DHS by ten or eleven

** We're planning our day around seeing Indiana Jones, the car stunt show, and Playhouse Disney.

** At some point, use 2 CS credits at Pizza Planet.

** Depending on the lines, maybe we'll get to try some of our never-been-done list rides.

** Dinner at 7:15pm at Sci-Fi! We loved this place last time

** Fantasmic?????

It's on our never-been-done list... we might be too tired for Fantasmic and head back to the room after dinner... or maybe we'll want to stay in the park after dinner, but the line for Fantasmic might be CRAZY, in which case we'll have skip it and do more rides... or maybe we'll actually get to see Fantasmic, although with a two-year-old I won't count on it!

Thanks again to any readers out there!

 

[apirateslife4us!]

After posting all the things we've never done that we'd like to try, I wanted to list all our favorites from our first trip... these are things we've done before butreeeeally want to do again!

Our List of Must-Do-Agains!!


Magic Kingdom:

The Crystal Palace
Pirates of the Caribbean
Aladdin Magic Carpets
Thunder Mountain
Splash Mountain
Mickey's Philharmagic
Peter Pan's Flight
Small World
Dumbo
Teacups
Speedway
Astro Orbiter
Buzz Lightyear

Epcot

Spaceship Earth
Nemo
Soarin'

Hollywood Studios

Pizza Planet
Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Playhouse Disney
Star Tours
Sci-Fi Dine-In

Animal Kingdom

The Safari

Okay wow... it's a good thing we've got two days set aside for Magic Kingdom!

 

[mansionterror]

We always do the most at MK...really AK and DHS are half day parks for us because there is just not as much for DS to do there. Although we do plan on seeing FOLK and Nemo at AK and B&TB at DHS and those will take up some time.

When Colby was smaller he had a monkey backpack that he wore a lot...the monkey's tail was a "leash". Colby loved it and it gave us peace of mind.

 

[apirateslife4us!]

Hi Mel! I'm so happy you're back I have to admit I'm surprised by how much more we want to do at MK! We did only spend a half day at AK and DHS now that you mention it, I guess it just felt like more.

As for the monkey backpack... well I went ahead and did it. I bought that exact one at Target yesterday actually The tail unclips and he loves his new "backpack." As for Donald, I told him that I just needed peace of mind. He isn't exactly a huge fan of the monkey, but he's not veto-ing it either

 

[mickey'sbff]

We have tons of things to go in Magic Kingdom, too!

 

[Disneychix]

Wow, what a great trip you have planned!

I vetoed DHs vote on the monkey back-pack when we took Ds for the first time too. He was adament against it but he wasn't the one who would have been running everywhere after DS, that would've been me! Even if it just gives you piece of mind it was a good decision since you already had one experience with a runaway kid.

Did you get any discounts on your trip? Kids stay and play or discounted room? Show that to your DH and then get the Typhoon Lagoon tickets!