The Inlaws are coming, the Inlaws are coming. June 2-12-2011 PTR- UPDATED 10/20

[chicagoshannon]

I just thought of another souvie. I think we'll be doing build a dino again.

I found out MIL's flights. She'll be arriving at 11am on Monday and leaving at 5pm on Friday. I"m a little annoyed cause she was supposed to drive back with us. Now we have to cut our last day short to drop her at the airport. Also her arrival is at an inconvneient time. We won't be able to do anything really before we pick her up. I think we'll just use Monday as our off day and be happy if we get to a park in the afternoon I guess. I think I'll have to readjust our date night and make it Monday night instead of Tuesday.

I'm still waiting for our custom outfits to come in the mail. I"ve also started thinking I should get Duncan some 6-12 month shorts. He'll be 10.5 months when we go and the closer it gets the less likely it appears he'll be in the 12-18 size shorts I have for him. He's normally in cloth diapers but I'm not even going to go there while on vacation. This will make his shorts big on him I'm sure. Once I start getting stuff together to pack I"ll take pictures of some of the outfits.

OH and I got myself some new shorts from Old Navy. My weight loss has stalled the last couple of weeks so I'm not going to make my 20 more pounds by our trip. I"m not hoping for 10 more pounds. SO I got size 16 shorts from ON and they fit with room to spare. Now there stuff tends to run a little big but boy am I glad the shorts fit. I'm guessing I'll have to get a belt for them before our trip though. I haven't worn shorts in a LONG time. I'm so glad I finally found some long enough (just above the knee).

 

[chicagoshannon]

Day 1 and Day 2 plans!
Thursday, June 2:
- leave around 4am (might be earlier if we can't sleep, usually happens)
- stop for breakfast around 8am will try to coordinate this with a gas stop
- lunch around noon
- stop for the night and late dinner in Valdosta, GA.

Friday, June 3:
- hotel breakfast around 8am
- leave the hotel by 9am
- stop at the FL Welcome center about 20 minutes later
- arrive at the Dolphin around noon
- check in. hopefully the room will be ready
- pick up stroller from Bell Services (we rented a double from Magic Strollers)
- get lunch: Dolphin food court or Beaches and Cream
- go swimming and explore the resorts
- dinner- Beaches and Cream if we didn't do that earlier or some other place around there
- DHS to check out the layout of SWW and maybe see Hyperspace Hoopla so we don't have to do that the next day and upgrade our tickets to APs*
- back to the hotel by 8pm for bed.

* FIL will not come with us to DHS the first day I don't think. We have 7 day tickets for him. Although now that I think about it we could just add a day to his ticket if we wanted.

 

[longing2Batdisney]

sounds like a great start!

hmmm....AP's so maybe a little visit in Oct wouldn't be totally out of the question...JK!

Congrats! on the shorts!!! I have been switching to bermuda style slowly for the last two years. I know it is a wonderful feeling to start seeing the sizes go down

 

[chicagoshannon]

Thanks Connie. Trust me I've thought about another trip. I haven't even mentioned it to Eric at all though. I love Disney in October. We're planning on a return trip late April next year with my parents for 2 weeks! I've already got plans swirling around in my head for that one!

I also think we may be moving our trip to DisneyLAND up to 2013 insted of 2014. It all depends on if my grandma is able to come out here between now and then. I don't want to wait til 2014 to see my Grandma again.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Saturday, June 4 DHS day!

*We have an 8am ADR for the Buffet character meal. We may or may not keep that.
*after rope drop we'll rush towards Jedi training sign up (I think)
* I'll either get FP for Toy Story or Star Tours
* spend some time exploring the Star Wars Weekend things
*10am we'll find a spot for the parade
* 12pm Sci Fi ADR
* hit up a ride or 2 with Fast pass
* Leave for an afternoon breadk and to check into our condo
* get some groceries
* relax in the condo/unpack
* possibly go back to DHS
* It would be really nice if we could do some of the normal DHS rides and shows. I'm trying not to plan too much cause I have no idea how long the Character meet and greets will be and all the other Star Wars stuff. We'll have another day here if we want.

I'm definitely planning on starting the Vinylmation trading/collecting while we're here. Hopefull we'll get a Star Wars one this day.

50 DAYS TO GO!!

 

[longing2Batdisney]

YAY! under the 50 day mark!!
so excting!!!

 

[chicagoshannon]

June 5th Magic Kingdom
Today we have a before park opening Crystal Palace ADR for 8am. However we will most likely cancel this so MIL can join us for it later in the week. OR maybe we'll go twice.
After rope drop we'll head to fantasyland.
Dumbo will be #1 if we can get there right away
We'll FP Peter Pan then ride Pooh and Small World (I promised MIL we'd ride that before she joined us)
Hopefully it will be time for another FP by then so we'll head to Frontierland for Splash Mountain and Big Thunder.
By then it will probably be time for BARBER SHOP.
we'll take Madeline there for her hair cut and a little Pixie dust.
We have a 12pm ADR for the Plaza that I plan on keeping.
After that we'll probably snag another FP for something and head our for a break.
I plan to head back later in the afternoon and try to do some more things.

~~ Today will be Madeline's first rides on Splash and Big Thunder. We're very excited ~~

I'm still waiting on our special Star Wars outfits for the trip. I'm having a bit of an issue with the person from Etsy. I actually ended up filing a claim with paypal because it was getting close to 45 days. She claims to still be working on them so I'm still hopeful.

I will try to get some pictures up soon. I got Madeline a cute crayon holder and little bag from Etsy and Duncan a little matchbox car holder.

 

[sahm2two]

Hey! I followed you over from the June thread We'll be at DHS the same day My DH is a huge star wars fan, but not a planner... so he doesn't know is SWW! I'm surprising him I bought my 2 girls little tshirts off of etsy for that day.


I have a dinner suggestion for your stop in Valdosta, if you like BBQ (or chicken strips!) and if you'll be there before 9:30pm (that's when they close). It's called Smok'n Pig and it's not far off the interstate on the 1st Valdosta exit. It's good! My sister lives in Valdosta, so we're staying with her the weekend before our trip starts. We always eat there anytime we visit her
http://www.smoknpig.com/

 

[chicagoshannon]

Hey! I followed you over from the June thread We'll be at DHS the same day My DH is a huge star wars fan, but not a planner... so he doesn't know is SWW! I'm surprising him I bought my 2 girls little tshirts off of etsy for that day.


I have a dinner suggestion for your stop in Valdosta, if you like BBQ (or chicken strips!) and if you'll be there before 9:30pm (that's when they close). It's called Smok'n Pig and it's not far off the interstate on the 1st Valdosta exit. It's good! My sister lives in Valdosta, so we're staying with her the weekend before our trip starts. We always eat there anytime we visit her
http://www.smoknpig.com/

Which etsy seller did you buy your shirts from? I can't be sure the outfits I ordered will be coming. I'm getting really worried. It's not even the money, although they weren't cheap, it's that fact that I had these outfits all planned out. Anyway I think I need an alternative.

Thanks for the suggestion for dinner. I'm hoping to be in Valdosta around 8pm.

and Welcome to my PTR.

How neat that your husband doesn't know about SWW. Are you planning the itinerary for that day?

 

[chicagoshannon]

Today we had the kids pictures taken. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Duncan will be 9 months old on Tuesday and Madeline turned 4 a couple of weeks ago. She is starting to get that cheesy fake smile now that she's older.

I also just got done boiling eggs so we can dye them tomorrow. I am now printing off packing lists and restaurant list by exit so we can plan ahead which exits to stop at to eat on the way down.

 

[chicagoshannon]

I just ordered Madeline her autograph book and pen. I also got 2 vinylmations for trading. Disney has free shipping if you buy park merchendise so I had to order the stuff.

Over the weekend I started gathering all of our miscelanious things like glow sticks and poncho's. Maybe I'll get a chance to go through it today and organize. I also have my planning binder pretty much figured out. I just need to make our meal list and grocery list. I would LOVE some suggestions for easy meal in the condo. I know I'm going to be the one cooking for at least part of the trip so I want super easy meals that won't make me supper hot to cook them.

The person making our outfits said she shipped them on Saturday. So they should be here on Wed. or Thurs. I'll post pictures when they arrive.

 

[Moira222]

your pictures are so cute!

easy meals--- are you going to hit a grocery store? when we go camping we love to buy the microwavable Uncle Bens rice bags. they are yummy and so easy to prepare. what sort of dish/cookware are in the condo? can you wrap some bacon around chicken & cook it? that will last for a few lunches and will be moist.

only bad thing about a condo with a kitchen is that you are sort of obligated to cook on vacation.

 

[brookelizabeth]

It just stinks that you are arriving on the 2nd and I'm leaving on the 1st!

Your plans are looking great though! I look forward to seeing the outfits!! And as I said on Facebook, LOVE the pics of the kids! They turned out so adorable. I love those baby open mouth smiles.

As for easy meals - on our December 2009 trip we cooked a lot. We bought a big thing of meat and browned it, made tacos one night, then the next night used the same meat for pasta (didn't season part of the meat during taco night obviously!). We tried to basically just do "big" cooking once or twice and incorporate pieces of the meal into the next one...if that makes sense?

 

[chicagoshannon]

Thanks for the ideas. I think I have taco's and spaghetti on the menu already. I have no idea if Eric's dad eats tac's though. I should probably find out. I was also thinking we could grill some burgers one night. The time share has grills outside.

Anyone have a good casserole recipe? I could probably do one of those.

I did just add a reservation at Boma for our AK park day. Madeline has been claiming that AKL is her favorite resort even though we've never been there. I thought it would be nice to take her there to see it. When I was a kid we'd hotel hop to all the hotels but AKL wasn't opened back then. If we don't get to it this year we'll go next year. I want to check out Pop too. That's the other one we haven't ever seen. Hotel hopping at Christmas was so awesome. I don't know if they still do this but back then all the delux hotels passed out cookies during that time of year. My grandparents knew the times at all the hotels for the cookies. haha We also used to go check out the Peabody. They had cute little penguins that walked to the fountain once a day.

I can't wait to start my PTR for next year. It's going to be a 2 week long vacation!!!

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH and I might have an October trip in the works. I asked my mom and sister if they wanted to go to Florida with me and the kids then. I can get the time share we like(and also another one if the one I like gets booked) for $500.

 

[chicagoshannon]

June 6th- MIL arrives
This day is a toss up. I have a few different plans floating around in my head
1. go to MK at rope drop and head right to the Rupunzel meet and great. I have purposely not told Madeline about this M&G in case we're unable to do it.
After the M&G we'd head to the airport to get MIL

2. Do a little activity at the resort then have FIL drop us off at Downtown Disney while he goes and gets MIL from the airport

3. Go to Epcot and have MIL take a cab or shuttle to the condo

4. Go to MK for Rupunzel and then have FIL drop us off at DTD while he gets MIL.

That afternoon we'll decide if we want to head to Epcot or just hang out at the condo and swim and play mini golf. I have no idea if MIL is going to feel like a park that day or not.

Eric and I have reservations for Wolfgang Puck Cafe this night. We'll see if we go or not.

 

[longing2Batdisney]

GREat pictures! Shannon so cute!
I can't help with meals; we normally do taco's, hamburgers, pizza (that you pop in the oven, not take out we add toppings), and I'm not really into casserole's. Can't wait to see your outifts....can't believe your trip is so soon. And how exciting to be maybe planning an Oct visit!!!
Have a great day!

 

[chicagoshannon]

Connie- we have frozen pizza on the list now too. Thanks!

My Disney package is due to arrive tomorrow. I orderd Madeline's autograph book and pen and 2 sale vinylmation characters for trading.

I hope the Star Wars outfits arrive today.

Yesterday I ordered a really cool travel bed for the kids. I figured Madeline can use it on our trip down, at the Dolphin, and our trip back and Dunan will use it at the condo. I figure he'll just sleep with us in the other hotels. It's a little tent like bed that has a blow up mattress. It looks really neat. AND it folds up super small so packing it should be a breeze.

I'm still debating on whether or not to get a new car DVD player. I dropped the one we have and now the dvd door won't click closed so I can't mount it on the headrest. I'll probably end up getting a new one.

I don't know if we'll make the girls trip to Florida. My mom and sister are really fighting it for some reason. Well, my mom and dad are coming with us next April for a 2 week trip so I guess that's why. BUt my sister is baffling. She hasn't been to Disney since about 2001 and I know she'd love to go with my kids. It's bugging me.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Tuesday, June 7 EPCOT
We'll head to Epcot today most likely. I guess it depends on if/how much time we spent at Epcot the day before. Our other Option is DHS. So...

Plan 1: Epcot:
Rope Drop of course.
Fast Passes for Soarin
Ride Test Track
Mission Space if MIL wants to
Character Spot if lines aren't too bad
Nemo
Soarin
Figment
Lunch
Ellen's Enery Adventure
Innoventions
Spaceship earth
Head out for break
After break come back and go through the countries
***MUST DO: Beast meet and greet.****

Plan 2: DHS
Rope Drop
Toy Story Mania
Fast Passes for RNR
Ride TOT
Disney Junior Area
Ariel
Annimation Acadamy
One Man's Dream
Narnia maybe
Backlot Tour
I figure we'll do most of the other stuff on STar Wars day
Finish up Epot if theres time.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Wednesday, June 8 Magic Kingdom
We have a before park opening Crystal Palace breakfast
I think we'll be doing the thrill rides this day. MIL loves roller coasters.
I want to head to Magic Carpets firs to try and ride with Jasmine and Aladin. When Madeline was 2 we were the first riders of the day and they rode the ride at the same time as us.
After that I think we'll run ahead to Splash and grab FP and then ride Big Thunder.
Then we'll head to Pirates and Jungle Cruise.
Then Space Mountain FP and maybe ride Buzz depending on wait time.
I"m sure we'll head to fantasy land at some point too.
Madeline wants to ride Snow White a lot because she knows it's closing and it's one of her favorites.
We'll probably grab lunch and take a break at some point. We'll see how it goes.
I want to ride Splash right before we leave for our break so we're not walking around wet all day.

I"m going to try to take some pictures today of our stuff so far. Still waiting on our Star Wars outfits. I'm thinking they might not happen.

 

[Kat in GA]

I am having fun catching up on your report! We arrive at the world shortly after you leave. We are getting APs as well and are planning a year of Disney.

I keep poking around the pre-trip reports looking for people going when we are - so now I am considering a pre-trip report. However, I didn't finish my last trip report - so I am worried about my follow through