Thanksgiving and Christmas all rolled into one! November 2012-100 DAYS TO DISNEY 8/9

[WDWCP96]

Welcome to my pre-trip report.

We just booked for Thanksgiving week 2012 at Bay Lake Tower in a Lake view 1 bedroom. We are going from November 17th to the 24th. We added another day so now we will be arriving on 11/16!

We can't book our ADR's until May 21st and we are debating between doing the DDP versus DxDDP.

Hope you will join me in planning an unforgettable Disney vacation.

 

[WDWCP96]

Let me introduce ourselves:

First, there is me, Holly, a 30-something SAHM to 3 beautiful children. My first trip to Disney wasn't until I was accepted into the WDW College Program. I worked at the then Disney/MGM Studios driving the tram in the parking lot. After the college program I stayed on as a seasonal employee for 2 more years. I wish I were still a seasonal employee but since we are DVC owners I know a Disney trip is never too far away.

Then there is my DH, Jason. He has had many Disney trips in his life as his grandmother lived just outside of Orlando. He loves all things Disney with some of his favorites being Star Tours and POTC.

Next up is DS1, Kyle, who is 5 and is in kindergarten. At the time of the trip he will be 6 and in first grade. He loves all things Disney but especially loves Phineas and Ferb. He was so excited to meet them during our last trip in June 2011.

Then there is DS2, Keenan, who is 1 but will be 2 when we go on our trip. He is our little daredevil and keeps us on his toes. This will be his 3rd trip to Disney but probably will be the first one he remembers. He also loves all things Disney. He loves to dance especially when watching Mickey Mouse clubhouse. I can't wait to see how he is this trip.

And last but definitely not least is our little girl, Kiersten who will be 1.5 years old at the time of the trip. She is currently 7 months old. This will be her 2nd trip but her first was when she was only 1 month old. She is the little princess and is adored by her brothers. I think this trip will be fun with her around and being more aware.

So there you have the lucky vacationers!

Next up a preliminary list of the ADR's we would like.

 

[WDWCP96]

Since I can't make my dining reservations until May I decided to write a list of all the restaurants we would like to try. Of course the number of TS meals will depend on which dining plan we do and we are still number crunching/discussing that.

So in no particular order:
Whispering Canyon Cafe (never eaten here)
Tusker House character breakfast (our favorite character meal)
Akershus character breakfast
Liberty Tree Tavern (never eaten here)
Kona (DH's request)
50's Prime Time Cafe (a favorite)
Mama Melrose (had ADR's here Twice and cancelled both times)
Flame Tree Barbecue (a favorite)
Yak and Yeti (never eaten here)
Earl of Sandwich (a must on each trip)
Yorkshire County Fish Shop
1900 Park Fare(never eaten here)
Cape May Cafe (clambake dinner-my request)
Spirit of Aloha luau (a favorite)
Columbia Harbour House
Via Napoli (never eaten here)

So as you can see our list is quite long and will be pared down depending on which dining option we choose.

Once I make our ADR's I will update this post with our scheduled meals.

 

[DMGeurts]

Found your PTR and joining in for the fun!

Thanks for letting me know you started a PTR! I can't wait to hear about all of your plans... BLT sounds so awesome, I would love to stay there one day too...

D~

 

[WDWCP96]

I am having a heck of a time posting pictures. I am wondering if it is because I am on my iPad. Can anyone help me?

I also want to put a link in my signature so it can be clicked.

Any help is much appreciated.

I will edit this later for information about which type of passes we will be doing as well.

 

[WDWCP96]

Thanks D~ for stopping by. I was telling DH about your sewing skills and how they were funding your trip to Disney and he said I should do that as well. We will see if I can come up with anything that I think is sellable!

 

[DMGeurts]

I have heard of people having problems quoting on Ipads, but not posting pictures. Are you putting the img brackets in front of and behind your img links?

Here's the link to your PTR... Just quote me and steal the text portion, then you can copy and paste it right into your siggy.

Thanksgiving & Christmas all rolled into one! My Nov 2012 PTR

Hmmmm... What can you make to earn your way to Disney???? Do you scrapbook or anything?

D~

 

[WDWCP96]

Thanks D~! I do have

 

[DMGeurts]

You might have to go into the techie section of disboards to see if there are any threads that partain to snapfish photos... I always use either PHotobucket or Picasa when posting pictures... Photobucket is the easiest of the two.

D~

 

[WDWCP96]

I fixed my pictures, well all of them except mine. I went through all of my uploaded pictures of our last Disney trip and I don't have any with me in it and since I am on my DH's work laptop there are no pictures of me saved on it. Oh well I will find one soon! LOL!

So last night I asked DS1 if there were any restaurants he wanted to eat at when we go to Disney and he said the one that has the kids food at his height! You have got to love the mind of a 5 year old. So I am pretty positive he means Tusker House since the last time we ate at Crystal Palace was back in 2009 when we went with our friends.

 

[DMGeurts]

Strangest thing.... I posted a really long post to your PTR, and when the page reloaded after I posted - I was on someone else's PTR... It was really weird. Kind of like accidentally walking into someone's house, and you realize you're at the wrong house and you don't know anyone.

Anyways... As I was saying... I am so glad you got your pictures fixed. Your oldest looks exactly like your DH! Keenan is just precious - I love that age! And I can't believe how tiny Kiersten was when you went - that must have been hard. This will be a super fun trip for all of you!

D~

 

[WDWCP96]

Strangest thing.... I posted a really long post to your PTR, and when the page reloaded after I posted - I was on someone else's PTR... It was really weird. Kind of like accidentally walking into someone's house, and you realize you're at the wrong house and you don't know anyone.

Anyways... As I was saying... I am so glad you got your pictures fixed. Your oldest looks exactly like your DH! Keenan is just precious - I love that age! And I can't believe how tiny Kiersten was when you went - that must have been hard. This will be a super fun trip for all of you!

D~

That is pretty funny analogy! I hope that has never happened to you!

It is funny with my oldest people always say that he looks just like my DH and then they see me with him and change their mind. Keenan looks just like DH did when he was young. Kiersten was only a month old when we went. We had this trip planned before she was known about, she wasn't exactly planned but we are so happy. It wasn't too bad having an infant but with that trip we invited my MIL along to help out so that it was a 1 to 1 ratio of kids to adults which made all the difference in the world.

 

[Marshay]

Joining in!

Thanks for your shameless plug on my PTR -- got me to come right on over!

We may try to sneak in a trip in Nov, too! DH doesn't know yet!!

 

[WDWCP96]

Hello! My name is Holly and I am addicted to Pinterest. Yup I said it and now you all know it. Anyway I am always on there looking for ideas on different things. Most recently I was looking at all things Disney. I found some really cute outfits. I would really like to make customs for my kids and if I have time I will throw some in for DH and I.

I am really nervous about making clothes. The only things I have tried so far are aprons,tote bags, pillows and I made a little bag for my iPad. I would really like to make a park bag like the amazing DMGeurts but I don't think anything I make would hold a candle to her stuff.

So I am hoping to head to Joann's and get some Disney fabric to make a tote bag if for nothing else but to practice. If anyone has suggestions for a good cheap place to buy fabric online please let me know because trying to go to the fabric store with 3 kids in tow is not my idea of fun.

Okay so here are some pictures of my creations, please note that I just recently started sewing and I was taking classes to learn better.

 

[WDWCP96]

Joining in!

Thanks for your shameless plug on my PTR -- got me to come right on over!

We may try to sneak in a trip in Nov, too! DH doesn't know yet!!

Hi Marsha! Thanks for coming by. We must have been posting at the same time. So if you did decide to go in November when would you go? And I am so jealous you are going on the DCL Dream. I am dying to go on it but it will have to wait until all our kids are old enough to be in the kids club together.

 

[DMGeurts]

I love everything you've posted - I can tell that you've been working hard!

First of all - please don't let my bags hold you back... I am obsessively weird, and I don't even know how I create the things I do??? LOL Just create - and enjoy what you are doing, that's the most important thing!

As for fabric stores - you are going to think I am weird - but I love shopping for fabric online. I live 35 minutes from the nearest non-boutique fabric store, so I really try not to go there unless I have to. I've resorted to buying most of my fabric online, because usually shipping is much cheaper than the agony of driving there and back. I buy a lot of fabric on Etsy - where it's very easy to price shop, and I have had excellent transactions with every single person I've encountered.

D~

 

[WDWCP96]

Thanks D!

I am still trying to get better at making bags.

Do you have any particular sellers that you would recommend? I am going to take a look on easy now.

 

[DMGeurts]

Just start searching... once you find what you are looking for - find the actual name of the fabric and designer and do a more specific search - that is how you price shop... Then look at feedback, and if you are me, you'd look at everything else in their shop too, just to see if you can squish more into the box they are already shipping to you. LOL

D~

 

[WDWCP96]

Just start searching... once you find what you are looking for - find the actual name of the fabric and designer and do a more specific search - that is how you price shop... Then look at feedback, and if you are me, you'd look at everything else in their shop too, just to see if you can squish more into the box they are already shipping to you. LOL

D~

Thanks! I did start looking and found some cute stuff. I need to figure out what project I want to tackle first. My DH isn't going to be happy but it has to be better than me buying the stuff!

 

[DMGeurts]

Most likely - it will be much better than you buying customs... They are so expensive. Spend some time in the Disboutiquer threads too - some amazingly inspiring people over there - and very helpful.

D~