The Gentile's are Going to DISNEY! PTR 2/26-3/04/13

[TinkerbellM6]

Love it! Your Christmas morning is going to be just as magical as ours. The anticipation leading up to Christmas for me is crazy good! I often sit and think about the reaction my boys will have, the feeling is unreal. December 25 cant get here fast enough! :dancing:

Keep posting, I live reading your ptr.

I am soooooo so so so so so sooooo EXCITED for Christmas Morning!!! This year has been so fun! We have really been enjoying every day and soaking up the Christmas fun that leads up to the 25th. Movies, music, baking, peppermint hot cocoa, etc....you name it we do it! I am so happy that my Disney trip is following Xmas b/c the postpartum Christmas depression won't be that bad this year!!

I love all of your ideas! I also had a Cyber Monday order, can't resist those sales! And I think doing your own Bippity Boppity Boutique is a much better idea than going there, the prices are kind of crazy! I totally agree that the anticipation of the trip is huge. I know when I went for the first time when I was 8 I was in planning mode for months, reading all these guides for kids that I could get my hands on and finding out everything I could!

Today is December 6th and according to UPS my Cyber Monday order is arriving today!!!! I can't wait to dazzle up my little girl and see her all "princessed" out in her Belle costume! I just ordered the "2013 Unofficial Guide to Disney" off Amazon and it arrived today! I am so excited to start the fun process of changing my itinerary around a gazillion times lol!

Subbing in! Your kids are adorable.

I was going to try to surprise the kids the morning of, but ended up telling them this summer! I have loved having my 6 year old help plan things!

I think the "planning" part is half the fun so I am excited to be able to finally talk about it with DD and let her in on all the fun of the days leading up to our trip! Thank you for subbing!!!

 

[TinkerbellM6]

Our upcoming vacation is 100% officially and completely PAID FOR!!! Yayy! I can't believe it, now I can finally relax and count down the days! I actually paid it off 5 days before the deadline with our travel agent! I was so nervous about making it with the Holiday season so close (I totally went over my Holiday spending budget...) but my restaurant tips were AMAZING during the weeks of Xmas and New Years! My heart was soaring at how generous people were this year!

As most of you already know, a while back I took care of pre-purchasing "souvenirs" to plant around the room for our kids to come "home" to each night of our trip. Now I am just saving for all the extras...drinks, our meal at 50's Prime Time, mousekeeping, etc. I was debating on ordering iron on decals from some sellers through Etsy to make Tshirts but I think I am going to pass on that. Part of the fun for me when we go on vacation is shopping for cute outfits to wear and I think I would rather spend $$ on stuff that I will be able to continue to wear when we are home. I will be donning a lime green Mickey emblem to identify myself to the Facebook group that I belong to but other than that I will be happy to wear "normal" clothes.

I was very excited to hear about the limited edition collection of "Ears" that are going to be available for sale this year...I hope to score a pair (or two).

Pretty soon I will be sharing our loose itinerary with you all. With two little ones, its tough to have too rigid of plans due to ANYTHING being subjective to change at a moments notice. However, part of the fun for me is to imagine how our trip will pan out...

I hope you all had a FABULOUS Holiday season...our daughter was absolutely ecstatic to find out about our "surprise" trip to Disney in just 2 months! We were very blessed this year, in many many ways. I am looking forward to the REAL countdown ahead in the upcoming weeks...look out for more frequent posts from me! It's getting serious everyone!!!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

WOOT! LOVE that feeling when it's paid off! I was relaxed for a few weeks afterwards, but now I'm stressing about "extra" money and things are SUPER tight after the holidays! Either way, it's nice to know that it's paid for! I think spending your money on shirts you buy at Disney will be much better than making them. I'm making 1 shirt for my dd and I, but the other shirts we bought we decided we liked them so much and knew we wouldn't wear them when we got home if they had iron-ons on them, so we're just wearing them plain instead.

Can't wait to hear your plans! I have found it hard to plan much out other than what park we're going to this time. The more I go, the more I like to just go with the flow and be less rigid about the plans.

 

[TinkerbellM6]

WOOT! LOVE that feeling when it's paid off! I was relaxed for a few weeks afterwards, but now I'm stressing about "extra" money and things are SUPER tight after the holidays! Either way, it's nice to know that it's paid for! I think spending your money on shirts you buy at Disney will be much better than making them. I'm making 1 shirt for my dd and I, but the other shirts we bought we decided we liked them so much and knew we wouldn't wear them when we got home if they had iron-ons on them, so we're just wearing them plain instead.

Can't wait to hear your plans! I have found it hard to plan much out other than what park we're going to this time. The more I go, the more I like to just go with the flow and be less rigid about the plans.

I hear you on the planning, its so hard to predict how you will be feeling on that day, the weather, the kids, etc. I just want a generalized idea of where we are heading each morning, a break in the afternoon, and then where we will be at night based on where our ADR is for that particular day. I was playing around with ideas today.

 

[TinkerbellM6]

It's TOURING PLAN time everyone!!! ​

After MUCH deliberation, research, brain storming, 2nd guessing, and nail biting, I think I have come up with an itinerary that will be the most suitable for our family. As I mentioned before, this itinerary is subject to change due large measures of unpredictability when traveling with children.

I present to you:

"The Gentile Family 2013 Ultimate Walt Disney World Vacation Itinerary!"​

Day One:

We will be flying jetBlue (LOVE jetBlue) from Newburgh, NY leaving at 6:31 am putting us in Orlando at 9:29 am. This will leave us plenty of time to catch the ME to Pop Century!

*The video that they show on the ME on the way into WDW will prob be tearfest #1 of MANY on this trip...*

We can't check in until 3 pm so we will most likely store our carry-ons at the front desk area, freshen up a bit in the bathroom, and head to Magic Kingdom. There is a possibility that we may just eat lunch in the resort before we go and I may inquire about whether our room is ready or not. If it isn't, no biggie. I am not planning any heavy ride plans for that day, the main points of visiting Magic Kingdom that afternoon will be to check out New Fantasyland and to catch the 3 pm parade. I think that will be the PERFECT way to open up our vacation. We have an ADR at 1900 Park Fare for 6:10 so we will board the resort monorail over to Grand Floridian for dinner and then back over to MK in time for Wishes when we are done. (Again, another major tearfest will be predicted for Wishes). In between all of this, we will have flexibility to grab a FastPass or two, hop on rides with short lines, and pretty much do as we please. The hardcore touring plans will be in the days ahead!! After Wishes, I figure we will end up heading back to the resort to check in, if we hadn't already, and turn in early to be fresh for the next morning!

*As I type this, I am eating a plate of fried mushrooms and washing it down with a can of Coca Cola...not exactly "get your body ready for Florida" appropriate!!! *​

Up Next...Day Two Of our Itinerary!

 

[TinkerbellM6]

**Day Two**​

Time to wake up early and officially start touring!

I am aiming to be awake and getting ready by 6:30 ish. We can grab a coffee and pastry for breakfast in the Pop food court on the way to the buses. We will be heading to Animal Kingdom for the 8 am EMH. With AK, it is wise to get there early b/c that is when the animals are at their viewing best. We will aim to knock out Kilimanjaro Safari and Expedition Everest first so that we can avoid longer lines later in the day. I would also like to try and do Dinosaur and It's Tough To Be A Bug earlier on. This would give us plenty of time to see Festival Of The Lion King and Finding Nemo, and also to view the animals throughout the park at our leisure. I am guessing that we will get most of the park done by lunch time. I would love to eat at Flame Tree BBQ, however I am going to play it by ear. We will most likely head back to the resort in the afternoon to rest, use the pool, and shower for dinner. The parade at AK isn't until 3:45 so it isn't something that I am realistically going to count on.

We have early dinner reservations for O'Hana at 5:10 pm. This means we should be leaving the Pop at least by 4:15 ish to give us plenty of time to make it to the Poly. I am SO excited to eat there, we couldn't get in the last time we were in WDW. This is the only dinner that I booked more for my hubby and I, all of the other dinners are planned for the kids. After O'Hana I am thinking we could head to Epcot to check out Illuminations but it isn't a requirement. We will be eating at The Garden Grill on the following night, so I know we will have plenty of time to see it then. We might just want to relax on the beach of the Poly, watch The Electrical Water Pageant and sip on a Margarita.

It is important for us to not run ourselves ragged, this is vacation after all! I also do not want the kids to be burnt out too soon so it is possible that we may just take it easy on this night after dinner. They show a movie by the pool at the resort at 7 pm every night so that is another option.

Up Next...Day 3!

 

[TinkerbellM6]

**Thursday Day 3**​

Today is the EMH at Magic Kingdom so the morning routine is very similar to the prior day. We will be aiming to arrive at the park at 8 am and I would like to head straight to the back of the park and knock out as much of Fantasyland (new and old) as possible. I am unsure of the attractions that will be open for EMH so that also dictates what we will choose to do in that first hour. Every year in the past, we have started with Jungle Cruise and worked our way around the park in that direction. However, this time I would like to get the most popular attractions done as early as possible. Splash Mountain is closed for re-furb so I won't be able to pay a visit to my buddy Brer Rabbit on this trip. I would love to eat at Columbia Harbor House for lunch as we usually eat at Pecos Bills or Pinocchio Village Haus. I keep reading about sitting upstairs overlooking the passageway into Fantasyland so I think we may try it out on this trip. I would love to try Be Our Guest for the counter service lunch but I didn't see anything on the kids menu that would appeal to my picky daughter and I am also concerned about the popularity affecting how busy it will be.

We have dinner ressie's at The Garden Grill in Epcot at 5:55 so at some point in the afternoon we are going to be scheduling a break, either at Magic Kingdom or at our resort. I would like to stick it out in MK and catch "Dream Along With Mickey" at 2:15 with "Celebrate A Dream Come True Parade" immediately following at 3. I am hoping to scout out a shady spot to park the stroller for my little man to possibly take a nap. The great thing about going to Disney in February is that it isn't estimated to be sweltering hot. I am expecting it to be hot, just not sweating and dehydrating your butt off hot.

Immediately following the parade, we will wrap things up in MK to head to Epcot for our dinner ADR. After that I would love to stick around in Epcot to see Illuminations but that will depend on the kids. We may just head back to the Pop to turn in early or relax in the room.

Day 4 ahead...

 

[TinkerbellM6]

**Day 4**​

Welcome to the plans for Day 4, Friday March 1st! Today I want to head into Hollywood Studios at 9 for rope drop. They are having EMH the following day in the morning but I want to be in Epcot since we have lunch plans at Akershus.

I would like to head directly to Toy Story Mania and ride at least twice if it allows. After that I want to head over to Tower of Terror and Rockin Roller Coaster. After these 3 attractions, I would like to tour the park at our leisure making sure we fit in Voyage of The Little Mermaid, Disney Junior Live, and Beauty and The Beast Live on Stage. Lunch is not planned, we will eat where ever we seem to be at that time in the park. I would like to stay in the park to catch the Pixar Parade at 3 and head back to the Pop directly after. We have 7:15 dinner reservations at Crystal Palace that evening, and we will be dining with my cousin, her husband and their son. They live in Central Florida so it will be nice to see them!

After dinner, we may just head back to the Pop to visit with my cousin or we may head into a Park. We shall see...

Day 5 Ahead!