The earlies pre trip report ever! I SO need it, though!

[Arielssister]

I am new to these boards and so I have never done a pre trip report but I thought it might be something to feed my addiction and longing. We are not going to Disney again until December 2011 because our DS1 would be too crazy and money. We got back from our last trip Sept. 26 - Oct 3 2009 and I was so depressed. I mean everyone is depressed when they get back from vacation and I am usually really missing Disney especially when I get back but this was the worst yet. So my friend who also loves Disney told me about these boards (Thanks, loritlc3! =]). I have really enjoyed reading and being on here and it has really helped with my wanting to fill my head with things Disney (DH hates when I talk about it and go and on about it. He loves Disney but he says I go too far and makes him want to go toooo early so I am so thankful for this boards, my refuge). So lately I have been reading a bunch of pre trip reports so I was laying in bed last night and thought how crazy would it be to start a PTR now? Well I'm crazy enough to do it! So I'm going to try this out. If anyone has any tips or anything as I do this, please feel free. I will do introductions next. From these other PTRs I've read, I think that's the next step...

 

[Arielssister]

First I will introduce my family. They are truly the most important thing in my life besides my faith so be prepared to hear how much I love them and how amazing they are.

My DH --He is 33 and works as a buyer at a distributor for retail businesses all over the world. We met in high school when I was 16 and have been friends ever since. We fell in love when he was 21 and I was 22. We have been married 10 years and I love him more every day. He is the best daddy in the whole world. He likes reading, movies, xbox 360, LOST, football, baseball, summer, and lots of other things. He wants to move to Florida but surprisingly, I don't. I have lots of reasons. One is the humidity. His favorite thing at WDW is Pirates of the Carribean.


Me : --I am a high school English teacher that hasn't taught since my DD5 was 7 months old. I miss it sooo much but I want to be home and see my babies grow up. It happens so fast. I work Monday - Wednesday at the corporation my DH works at in customer service. It's a blessing. I will go back to teaching when my DS1 is in pre-school or kindergarten. I like reading, being with my kids, Disney stuff, music, etc. I LOVE planning trips to Disney just as much as I love going there. Sometimes I wonder if I like the planning more but then I realize that's insane. My favorite thing at WDW is everything really so if I had to pick something I will tell you my favorite park is MK.

DD5 --She is in kindergarten and loves coloring,drawing, Polly Pockets, Littlest Pet Shop, stuffed animals, dancing, Daisies, and lots more. She is a miracle baby. I had toxemia and almost died. She was born at 35 weeks weighing 5 lbs. She is the sweetest thing in my life. She LOVES all things Disney and wants to be there every day like her mother. Her favorite things at WDW are MK's It's a Small World and DHS's Toy Story Mania.

DS1 --He is crazy. Typical 18 month old from what I hear but it's hard to keep up. He wants to climb, run, and get into everything. He is the sweetest little boy along with his craziness so that balances it out. He likes cars, trucks, Yo Gabba Gabba, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Batman. He was so good at Disney at 12 months, staying in the stroller and just loving everything. It was so perfect. His favorite thing was MK's Donald's Boat.

 

[Arielssister]

I realized I forgot a lot of stuff already and I feel really silly. I forgot names and I didn't put any photos up last time. I am Cathy, my DH is Kirk, our DD is Noel and our DS is Jackson. Since it's so hard to find a photo of all of us together, sadly because those are the best pics, I have one of me and our DD and one of Daddy and DS. The first one is DD and me at the MNSSHP from last trip. We got Minnie face paint and it was awesome. She is dressed up as Tinkerbelle. The second one is Daddy and DS with Woody and Buzz at DHS.

The first time I went to WDW I was 19 years old and I went with my aunt, my mom, my 2 cousins and the one cousin's girlfriend. We stayed at All Star Music. We went the first week of December 1995 and it was magical. I didn't get addicted then but I knew it was one of the best places on earth.

The second time was a year before I got pregnant with Noel. Kirk and I went and had a great time with a park hopper. We were like 2 little kids. It was so great. We stayed at All Star Sports. It was like a honeymoon.

The third time we went with friends that love Disney. They had 2 little girls at the time. Noel was 2 1/2 then. We stayed at the Carribean Beach Resort. It was a great time and I learned that taking kids to WDW isn't as stressful as I imagined.

The last time we went with my father in law, my sister in law and Kirk's aunt from California. (She had never been to WDW! ) We stayed at All Star Movies. We had our first experience with DDP and it was free and we will probably never go to WDW again without it free or paying for it! We love it.

 

[Arielssister]

Here is a photo of Kirk's dad, sister and aunt. This is at Teppan Edo which is fantastic!

Last trip went sooo amazingly well. I think that's why I want to go back so bad. We had dinner with my brother and his wife tonight and there's a chance they will be going in Dec 2011! That would be so awesome! It's crazy to think that Noel will be 7 and Jackson will be 3 when we go next. Time flies though not fast enough when you aren't going to Disney for 22 months!!!! I really hope my brother and his family go because that would be wonderful.

So I'm getting worried that I am writing this PTR for myself which is okay. I just hoped someone would take this crazy journey with me. I have been having trouble sleeping lately and that has never happened to me. It's strange when you are exhausted (chasing a 1 year old and taking care of a high maintenance is a lot of work) but you can't sleep. I feel really bad for people with insomnia and sleep apnea. Pray for them more now. Well my brother said if he goes in Dec 2011, he is staying at the Fort Wilderness cabins. If he has to take all 4 kids, he has to stay there, he says because they sleep 6. If his oldest 2 don't go then maybe that will change. I wanted to start talking about resorts but Kirk won't allow that. So what do you guys think? (or will there be crickets? that's ok, though. ) It would have to be value or moderate. We have stayed at all the value except POP Century so we were thinking that or if we can afford a moderate, I will be lost because the only one I have stayed in is CBR. So any feedback or input about that would be really cool.

 

[Arielssister]

For the past 2 trips, we have driven the 16 hours to Florida (we live right outside Pittsburgh, PA Go Steelers! ) It's not as bad as it sounds, coming home is horrible but going is fine because we are so excited to be going. It saves a TON of money and Kirk hates to fly. We left the house Saturday night, Sept. 25th at 7 pm so then the kids would be up maybe 2 hours and then they would sleep for the majority of the trip. They woke up right before the Florida border so we stopped at McDonald's freshened up (diaper change for Jackson!) and ate breakfast. Only around 4 more hours until we are at Disneyworld!!! So we get to All Star Movies and check-in is a breeze because we pre-checked in online (I really recommend that!). And even though we got there around 12:30, our room was ready! Which is wonderful since we had been in a car for 16 hours! It's the best feeling arriving! Everyone is so excited and we just have the biggest smiles on our faces. We got a Mighty Ducks room near the pool.

Here are me and Noel one morning:

Here is the great pool! All we had to do was go down the elevator and there it was.

We always go to MK the 1st day we are there because it's my favorite park and I want the castle to be the 1st thing everyone sees for obvious reasons! We usually get there around 6 and have a CS dinner. I will continue later.

 

[Loritlc3]

I love the pictures! I am interested in reading your ptr. We stayed at All Star Movies last July and the kids loved that pool!

Where did you find Buzz and Woody?

We went to MK first at night and saw the castle first thing although we hadn't planned MK to be our first stop. I agree that it is a great way to start the vacation.

 

[reyasmommy]

Have you considered staying off-property? I know a LOT of people are against it and I totally understand why, but sometimes I think it's a smart idea.

I LOVE staying on property just as much as the next person, but I can't justify spending the high rates when you can stay at a REALLY nice place off property for half the price.

We're leaving next week and staying in a 3 bedroom/ 3 bath condo for the same price as a moderate resort. There's pictures on my PTR if you're interested.

Guess, you have a LONG time to make a decision.

Your kids are cute .... enjoy the planning process .... I'll look for updates.

 

[Arielssister]

I love the pictures! I am interested in reading your ptr. We stayed at All Star Movies last July and the kids loved that pool!

Where did you find Buzz and Woody?

We went to MK first at night and saw the castle first thing although we hadn't planned MK to be our first stop. I agree that it is a great way to start the vacation.

Thanks! I just have to find another photo sharing website because I heard Photobucket has virus problems and I don't want that. The Mickey pool was our favorite because of the kiddie pool and Mickey shooting water.

Buzz and Woody were in a building across from Toy Story Mania. Noel and I were riding it when Kirk got this pic with Jackson.

I'm hoping to get back to this report once I find a new photo sharing site.

 

[Arielssister]

Have you considered staying off-property? I know a LOT of people are against it and I totally understand why, but sometimes I think it's a smart idea.

I LOVE staying on property just as much as the next person, but I can't justify spending the high rates when you can stay at a REALLY nice place off property for half the price.

Hi reyasmommy! We have friends who always stay off property because they say it saves so much money on hotel and food expenses but we will probably always stay on property. Surprisingly this is my DH's feelilng more than mine. He says how staying on property gives you that "I'm in a different world" feel. It's funny because we go to Islands of Adventure the last day of our vacation and we always say how it's like a shock because the employees at Universal are not as super friendly as Disney's CMs. They are nice but they just don't go above and beyond. Plus we do the DDP for food. We will always do character dining so we need it. We also like the busing at WDW's resorts.

We're leaving next week and staying in a 3 bedroom/ 3 bath condo for the same price as a moderate resort. There's pictures on my PTR if you're interested.

I will be checking out your PTR and will look at your pics!


Guess, you have a LONG time to make a decision.

TOO long! Hope I make it!

Your kids are cute .... enjoy the planning process .... I'll look for updates.

Thanks! They get big so fast!
.

 

[Arielssister]

Oh I totally did that quote thing wrong reyasmommy. Sorry I am so new and clueless.

 

[Arielssister]

So I heard that Photobucket can cause viruses on your computer so I haven't been working on this PTR but I'm looking into Mozilla Firefox or another photo sharing site but I think I will use it one more time today.

I have more resort photos. I thought I would just put some up now since we are still on the day of our last trip when we arrived at All Star Movies.

Noel LOVED the bathroom as you can see.

Jackson liked the hangers.

This is right before bed. We decided to go the the food court. This pic was taken without permission by Kirk. I was looking rough.

Much better. (one morning before a park.)

I'm going to take a break from the resort photos for now and get onto our first night. When we went to MK the first night, we wanted to get some dinner, ride It's a Small World, and do Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. That's really all we were planning since we didn't get there until 6. And we did it all plus Wishes. It was great.

We met our first character as soon as we got there. Noel was very excited about her autograph book.

 

[Arielssister]

The 2nd day we went to Animal Kingdom and swam later. Here are some pics.

Here's Kirk, his sister and Noel in front of AK. (notice the Mickey Monster in her hand. Her first souvenir. We got it from the resort gift shop. She saw them on Disney's website before we got there and we told her she could get one at WDW. I love that thing. It's so cute. )

Here are the kids in the double stroller a friend lent us. What a blessing! It was so hot and humid!

Some charater experiences. I love the AK clothes onthe characters.

This bear hugged her for a looonnng time.

Here is Kirk and Noel on the Dinosaurs. Forget exact name!

We ate lunch at Rainforest Cafe which is my FAVORITE! It isn't on the DDP but it doesn't matter because it's worth every penny!

We really need a better camera. =\

Since AK closes so early and since you can get it done quickly, we went back to the hotel, ate at the food court and swam. GREAT day!

Man, this is making me miss WDW even more!

 

[Arielssister]

Tuesday, we went to MK and MNSSHP in the evening. It was nice because Kirk's dad, sister and aunt watched Jackson so it would be easier on us at the party. It was another great day!
Here are some pics:

Characters!

Notice the Mickey scrunchie. It was hot and she was cranky so I got that after watching Mickey's Philharmagic! It looked so cute and helped a lot!

Here's one of the whole fam with Goofy.

Splash Mountain is in my top 10 places to be on Earth so...yeah.

Donald's Boat. Jackson's favorite! Great place to cool off and for the kids to run and play.

Here's us at MNSSHP and Cosmic Ray's for dinner. I Sonny Eclipse.

Kirk and I realized when we got to MK that kids weren't the only ones that dressed up so he got some pirate stuff and I got Jack ears.

Funny story here. We thought these were Disney characters from afar. Turns out it was a nice Disney family that goes all out.

Trick or treating!

Great chacter stuff at the party!!!!

People always see this pic and say who is excited here? Hee hee.

Well that's a picture story of a great day. Left out a lot but we took almost 400 pics so can't post them all. Next up is Epcot. Probably the only day that was the tiniest bit unpleasant and the reasons were nothing.

 

[Loritlc3]

Oh I like your Halloween party pictures. I have been really curious about the party. Are they just standing around at different stations or is there a special builiding you go to? Also who/what is Sonny Eclipse?

 

[Arielssister]

Hi lori! The characters are everywhere. Mickey and Minnie were outside their houses. The princesses and fairies were in the judge's tent but there were characters everywhere. Daisy and Donald Duck were at a dance party they had by Dumbo. Snow White and ALL 7 Dwarfs were by Dumbo. Pooh and Friends were by the Pooh playground. Alice and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum were by the Tea cups. It's so cool. Sonny Eclipse is the robotic lounge singer at the one CS restaurant I love. It's in Tomorrowland. There's a picture of Noel and me in front of him.

 

[Arielssister]

So I'm trying to decide if I'm going to continue doing this ptr. Maybe because I'm not going for over a year (over 20 and a half months ), people think it's silly and the excitement of going isn't there so they aren't reading. We'll see. Maybe in the fall when it gets closer to booking the resort, I will try again. Happiness to all.

 

[Arielssister]

So I have been reading a lot of PTR's and completed trip reports so it made me want to keep doing mine.

The Wednesday of our trip we went to Epcot.

Noel enjoying the fountain.

We had a late breakfast ADR at Akershus in WS's Norway. We were excited about seeing the princesses. The food was okay. The bagel and fruit buffet was great but the food they brought to your table was just okay-scrambled eggs, bacon, and potatoes.

Here's Jackson loving my favorite princess (well I actually have a LOT of trouble choosing who my favorite is ) Ariel.

The middle of the day was good except for a fight between me and Kirk about going on Soarin' but it ended okay. We all got to ride.

Here is Noel at a Kidcot funstop (I think thgat's what they are called). She really liked this. She to color.

We had a great time at the Nemo ride and Nemo stuff. I oceanography and Disney sea movies like The Little Mermaid and Finding Nemo.

We HAD (I'll explain) an ADR at Teppan Edo so we did the Kim Possible adventure and then went to that. Here's a nice pic of Noel and Kirk's aunt at a fountain near France.

Next up the rest of or time at Epcot and Teppan Edo (the one snag we had the whole trip and it turned out to be no big deal!)...

 

[Arielssister]

Noel really enjoys fountains.

Here is Noel eating a GINORMOUS sugar cookie. It was very yummy.

So we had a 4:30 ADR at Teppan Edo. So we get there 5 minutes early. I go up to the counter and they ask my name. I give them our name and the girl says she can't find it. I pull out my typed agenda which has our confirmation numbers on it and hand it to her. She brings up the number and says that the ADR for that number was yesterday. I say "Look at this typed agenda. Do you really think I would have typed this up wrong?" I was really upset, and so she says "Ok. One moment." She comes back 5 minutes later and says "Ok. We have a table but it will be 10-15 minutes." I say "That's great, thank you so much~!" So what I was worried was going to be a bad thing, turned out okay. Teppan Edo was wonderful! Here are some pics.

It was Kirk's aunt's birthday and they gave her a hat and sung. It was fun.

Here's a kidcot stop in Italy. Noel loved making a mask!

 

[GrammyJudy]

For the past 2 trips, we have driven the 16 hours to Florida (we live right outside Pittsburgh, PA Go Steelers! ) It's not as bad as it sounds, coming home is horrible but going is fine because we are so excited to be going. It saves a TON of money and Kirk hates to fly. We left the house Saturday night, Sept. 25th at 7 pm so then the kids would be up maybe 2 hours and then they would sleep for the majority of the trip. They woke up right before the Florida border so we stopped at McDonald's freshened up (diaper change for Jackson!) and ate breakfast. Only around 4 more hours until we are at Disneyworld!!! So we get to All Star Movies and check-in is a breeze because we pre-checked in online (I really recommend that!). And even though we got there around 12:30, our room was ready! Which is wonderful since we had been in a car for 16 hours! It's the best feeling arriving! Everyone is so excited and we just have the biggest smiles on our faces. We got a Mighty Ducks room near the pool.

Here are me and Noel one morning:

Here is the great pool! All we had to do was go down the elevator and there it was.

We always go to MK the 1st day we are there because it's my favorite park and I want the castle to be the 1st thing everyone sees for obvious reasons! We usually get there around 6 and have a CS dinner. I will continue later.

Sounds great so far! MK is our fav too and I hasve to see the castle first and last days of our trips. Glad to see you like to travel with family...we go 3 generations every other year.

 

[Arielssister]

Sounds great so far! MK is our fav too and I hasve to see the castle first and last days of our trips. Glad to see you like to travel with family...we go 3 generations every other year.

Hi, Grammy Judy! 3 generations! Wow, that is wonderful! We love going on trips with family. I wish everyone could go! I am hoping to average a WDW trip every other year but we'll see. I'm glad you read this. I'm really enjoying doing it but I feel bad if no one reads it. I'm thinking it's more like a completed trip report than a PRT.