The little vacation that could....Oct 2011 *Picture Heavy*

[Macduffy]

Here I am attempting a PTR for out Oct 2011 trip. I seriously wonder if there are statistics out there on successful PTR's?

Introduction!
Budget Minded
RDRR.... Planning My ADR's
Mental Checklist - getting things done!
Countdowns and Strollers
Theme Night Inspiration!

Introductions:

Me: Stacy age 31
and
DH: Scott age 32

Our very "spirited" boys
Ben age 5
Logan age 3

and My Mom (a.k.a Nanny) who is 64.

This will be the boys (and I guess my Mom's) 2nd trip to WDW. We went in 2009 (ASSp) in September with FD. My parents took me in like 1993 (hence mom's second trip). DH and I have gone 3 times so we are by no means experts we just love all things Disney.

This year we took advantage of the Kids Play Free offer and booked From Oct 1st to the 8th. We are staying in ASMo but I'm pretty sure I'm switching to POP (I just hate calling and making Ressie changes so I'm putting it off).

I'm a freakishly annoying planner (yet not a Type A at all) but I'll admit that most of the stuff I do doesn't really make or break the trip (except my ADR's obsession). The thing is... I enjoy planning Disney Trips just as much as actually taking them!

I hope you will join "The Little Vacation that could..."

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

sounds fun--- keep us posted---

 

[Macduffy]

In order for us to visit Disney was often as possible we MUST MUST MUST go on a budget. Values are the place for us! We rarely stay in our rooms anyway so it works for my family.

If it were for Kids Play Free we couldn't go this year so I'm so very happy that Disney offered such a wonderful discount!

I read alot about DDP costing more in the long run but for us it works. We're doing Disney on a budget yes, but that doesn't mean I want to be thinking about money the whole time we are on the trip. The DDP is my "out" and lets me relax instead of mentally tallying up the prices in my head while the family orders.

We live in Canada and strangely for us the CDN dollar is above Par! Meaning our CDN dollars will go much farther in Disney than in the past! Our dollar used to be trading at 65 cents so this is a huge deal for us.

We also drive to Maine and fly out of either Portland or Bangor (depending on the deal) because airfare in Canada is outrageous. Here is a picture of us in 2009:

[/IMG]
DS Logan was only 20 months at the time.

This is Ben turing 4 during our visit:

So far airfare is too high to book and I'm waiting (er... hoping) for it to drop. I feel like I'm playing russian roulette or something. we could get burned bad if the prices go up (no MNSSHP for us)!

We are from Canada (Go Habs Go!) but the cost to fly to MCO is absurd! So we are driving to Bangor Maine to catch a flight. It’s only about 2.5 hours away and will save us over $2000 in airfare. People often ask (and more whisper behind my back) how we can afford to go to WDW and so many don’t think about flying out of the US. Mind boggling.... In 09 we connecting in JFK which as inexperienced travellers I thought would be intimidating but really wasn’t. I have to say having the strollers to use in the terminal saved us.
Here’s DH at JFK in 09

and the kids on the plane:

 

[Macduffy]

So where, one might ask, does a neurotic Disney planner begin?
Why with ADR's of course!

I struggled with ADR's SO much! Why? Because we all wanted to go back to the same places as last time. I felt like we shouldn't do this - that there were so many places to eat in the world it would be ridiculous for us to dine at the same restaurants but alas.... we are!

Here we go!

Day 1: MK at the Crystal Palace. After dinner we'll be heading to MNSSHP. I actually didn't like the food at TCP but the kids really like tigger and pooh and as you know - they come first!

Day 2: Garden Grill - I'm not a food snob - like not even a little - and the Garden Grill is my absolute favorite restaurant (and Character Meal). The ratio of patrons to characters is phenominal and lets the kids really get a good one on one character experience. It was SO good that I forgot to take an pictures last time we were there

Day 3:Tuskers Breakfast - I read bad reviews on Donalds Safari but I liked it. the Character interaction sucked but the food was good (I mean really - can you screw up breakfast? ). Why we are going back is because I LOVE LOVE LOVE to tour the park empty so we make a really early ADR and tour the park and take pictures without anyone there. It's awesome.

Day 4: DHS - Play n' Dine. Yeah... that's all I have to say about that place. Moving on...... We went to Pizza Planet for supper which was awesome! It's one of my favorite places to eat.

Day 5: Chef Mickey's! This is actually on my Mom's 64th birthday so I'm going order her a cake like we did for Ben. This time however I'm going to get a SMALL one. We ended up sharing our cake with two other tables b/c it was so big and we were going to MK after we ate.

Day 6:O'hana! THIS is a new one (replacing our lack luster experience at Play n' Dine). Stitch is my favorite Disney character so I'm so excited about this AND getting to see the Poly.

I still feel guilty of copying our prevoius year but no one in our family is a big food eater so it works for us!

 

[jenneth79]

Sounds like a great trip, and what adorable kids! Looking forward to hearing more about your trip.

I'm kind of bummed about missing out on Ohana this trip because Stitch is my favorite troublemaker too!

 

[Disneychix]

I'm laughing right now because we are eating at almost all the exact same places! Must be the thing to do with little boys!

Good luck with airfare-I got ours before I booked our trip-actually cheap airfare was the reason for booking the whole trip Figure that Disney math out!

 

[beebeeryan]

Joining in! I'd join you in saying Go HABS GO since I'm from Montreal...but we'll have to settle for Vancouver at this point I guess to at least have a Canadian team in the finals.

Good idea on flying out of Maine, I know people in Montreal who travel across the border to Plattsburgh, NY to fly out and it's much cheaper. I live in New York State now and we have Southwest out of our local airport and it's great.

 

[MARsMama]

Joining in your PTR
I see we're going to be at Disney the same time... and we're neighbors, from NS here
Have you been watching flights from here? We got a really good price for a flight from here to MCO, $1200 down for 5 of us, and only $750 back It was such a good price my cousin and her family booked a trip too! Not that there's anything wrong with driving to Maine and flying from there, we actually played around with that idea too!
I know what you mean about the dollar being above par now, we went in 2009 as well and it was a huge hit when changing over to US money!
Can't wait to hear more about your trip. We are going to some of the same places to eat as you are. We stuck with a few favorites, but are trying some new places as well since we couldn't get in to a lot of places we wanted last time as we only booked with less than a month to go!!

 

[KatieCollette]

I'm in! That's crazy that you have to drive so far to get that deal, but hey, a deal is a deal! Alot of your ADR's are the same as ours. I agree with crystal palace. Love the characters, but the food is ehhhh.

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Hi! A fellow Canadian joining in here! We always fly out of the US too. It is cheaper, and so much easier for us then driving to Toronto to fly from there. We have the same struggles with going to our favourite restaurants vs. trying new ones. Lately we have been choosing a few old favourites and mixing in a few new ones too, and I haven't been disappointed yet! Looking forward to reading more!

 

[MadilynnsMomma]

Joining in! We're on the same page as you - stay at a value, utilize the dining plan, and eat where we know!

P.S. - is it October yet!?

 

[Macduffy]

Joining in your PTR
I see we're going to be at Disney the same time... and we're neighbors, from NS here

Maritimes Representin'

I'm hoping to fly out of Bangor but it's cheaper from Portland. An extra two hours with the kids may not be worth the savings however LOL! Right now it's looking like $1600 return for the four of us. I'm hoping for $1400 at this point. In 09 we got seats for $175 return from Bangor taxes in... shesh!

I think I use the kids as an excuse to do alot of the "kid stuff" that I really want to do. The boys could care less about Autographs but I get all giddy and excited to collect them... funny how Disney can make us all kids again

So I know I'm behind in the times but I'm totally addicted to GrooveShark! I get to listen to all my favorite songs while DISing! I have been able to find a single song I wanted to hear. If you haven't tried it I urge you to do so imediately!!

Hoping to finish my Disney countdown calendar tonight - I found an amazing one on the Family board and I'm trying to replicate... wish me luck!

 

[Macduffy]

I finally started my Disney Bible! Again... something I found on DIS

While some may think it adds to my Disney Dorky-ness I see it more as a family saver - less arguing with DH about flight times, ADR times and direction out of MCO

I order my Transfer Paper to make the boys shirts from Amymickey. They are idiot proof (trust me on that) and she is so fast on delivery! I love her

here are some shirts I made last time:

I'm not a big matchy match person with the kids (mainly because Logan wears Ben's hand me downs) but I loved making them matching shirts for Disney. I didn't do any for the adults and don't think I will this time either.

I've also started to plan what else I'm making for the trip. Mousekeeping Envelopes, Mickey packages for the boys, I'm excited just typing it out

I'm planning our next Disney Theme Night (Alice In Wonderland). We already did Peter Pan (I was hoping for one a month). And the boys FREAKED out they were so excited.

DH drew a treasure map for the boys to follow and pretended he was a Pirate looking for his treasure - which led to a serious sword fight won by my Neverland boys of course!

The treasure - it was full of beads and chocolate coins and tiaras and jewels.

Pirate Ship pizzas:

I heard "Arh... me matey" for like a week afterwards

the Disney Theme Night thread in the Family section is the ONLY place to go for ideas.

I'm struggling to make Alice and Wonderland "boy" friendly but will they really care? I doubt it!

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Love the Disney Bible!! They definitely are helpful, aren't they. And I don't find them dorky at all lol

Your theme night is so cute. The more of these I see, the more I want to have one!!

And thank you for posting the shirts and the sellers name. I would love to make some shirts, but I have been a little skeptical up until this point

Loving your PTR so far!

 

[Macduffy]

Love the Disney Bible!! They definitely are helpful, aren't they. And I don't find them dorky at all lol

Your theme night is so cute. The more of these I see, the more I want to have one!!

And thank you for posting the shirts and the sellers name. I would love to make some shirts, but I have been a little skeptical up until this point

Loving your PTR so far!

Don't fear the shirt! LOL Just make sure you get a good quality shirt and wash them first. Make sure you print the DISign at the highest quality too I've heard of people saving the thumbnail instead of the full image! I ordered 10 sheets so that will give me about 5 shirts each unless I choose smaller images then I can squeeze a few out of one sheet.

The Creative DISign board is great with requests for customization but if you're stuck I can try to personalize an image

 

[MARsMama]

Maritimes Representin'

I'm hoping to fly out of Bangor but it's cheaper from Portland. An extra two hours with the kids may not be worth the savings however LOL! Right now it's looking like $1600 return for the four of us. I'm hoping for $1400 at this point. In 09 we got seats for $175 return from Bangor taxes in... shesh!

I think I use the kids as an excuse to do alot of the "kid stuff" that I really want to do. The boys could care less about Autographs but I get all giddy and excited to collect them... funny how Disney can make us all kids again

So I know I'm behind in the times but I'm totally addicted to GrooveShark! I get to listen to all my favorite songs while DISing! I have been able to find a single song I wanted to hear. If you haven't tried it I urge you to do so imediately!!

Hoping to finish my Disney countdown calendar tonight - I found an amazing one on the Family board and I'm trying to replicate... wish me luck!

An extra two hours isn't that bad, in 2009 we drove the entire way to Disney!
I've never heard of GrooveShark, might have to check that out.
Can't wait to see your countdown calendar, I'm going to put one together once we tell the kids about our trip.

LOVE the Disney days. I'm really thinking of doing some of these during the summer when the kids are home from school and anxiously awaiting the trip!! lol

I got t-shirt designs from the DISign board and can't wait to do them. I am going to order the transfers from amymickey soon so I can get started....I need idiot proof that's for sure!

Love your Disney bible
Can't wait to hear more!!!

 

[Macduffy]

I finally finished my countdown calander! I'm so excited to hit 99 days so I can put it to use LOL!

It was so easy I'm ashamed to admit it.... I bought a art canvas at the dollar store, Mickey paper at Michael's and cardstock and voila! The numbers have removable stickers so I can swap them out each day

I hope it's not too tacky... that was my plan anyway.

I'm still looking for flights and I'm so anxious to book (so I can make our ME arrangments) it's hard to hold out for a better deal.

I'm also looking for some feedback. The boys will be (newly)6 and 3 on the trip. We are using a stroller for our 6 year old. He has NO problems with using one and I have no problems using one (I've gotten flamed on other boards for using a stroller for a 6 year old). I can buy one for $60 or rent one for $60. I think I'm going to buy it and then sell it when I get home.... anyone else buying a stroller JUST for Disney?

I think I'm going to get this one:

It's First Years Jet with a weight capacity of 50 lbs. It got great reviews on Amazon and it's on sale at a local store for $55!

 

[Macduffy]

I am offically setting a date for Alice In Wonderland Theme Night....

We have been so busy buying, selling and moving (all happened within 6 weeks) I've really slacked on out theme nights. I actually have a lot of the stuff bought for the party but haven't got my butt in gear to actually plan it. So I figured I'd do it here and make you all suffer....

First some pictures that inspired me:

I know my party will NOT look like this but I love so many of the ideas and all the colors! I think what I like best is the "busy-ness" of it all. I mean that's what the tea party is pretty much about - madness! I'm hoping with all the colors and decorations the boys won't think of it as a "tea party" so much.

I'll have juice for the "Drink me" bottles and sugar cookies with (an actually yummy) royal icing for the "Eat Me". DH and I actually don't drink tea or coffee so I'll either borrow some tea cups or buy some at ValueVillage. I was thinking of having a cake (for an un-birthday) but that's even too much sugar for me!.

I have a tunnel the kids can climb through to "transport" them to Wonderland

and I'll place tons of "go here" "down there" "This Way" "That Way" signs to make their way to the Tea Party.

I'm really struggling on an activity - I was thinking of "painting the roses red" craft but I seriously hate paint LOL - maybe we can use markers
OR we could each decorate a Mad Hatter hat! decisions decisions....

So I the date shall be..... THIS saturday May 28th! It's a pay day weekend so it will be more fun than a "non" payday weekend LOL I hope I can pull it off but I'm having my doubts!!!!

 

[MARsMama]

I love your countdown calendar, I just might have to make one of those for me too!! Although we are doing the calendar chain, which I am thinking of getting the kids to start making now and tell them that when it's done we'll tell them what it's for!

Your Alice in Wonderland day sounds, well....wonderful! Can't wait to hear all about it! I'm looking forward to doing Disney days with the kids this summer, it'll be so much fun!!!