The why isn't anyone reading our pre-trip report? - Grumpy's staying home - 8/22

[sumlthomp]

I'm so excited to begin my first pre-trip report. I have enjoyed reading so many others on here and now I actually get to do one!

I have only been to WDW twice before, and the last time was 17 years ago. I am so excited to finally be able to go back and to share it with my 4 children. My husband (AKA Grumpy) is not so excited, so we're leaving him home while we have the time of our lives! He has never been to WDW and just doesn't understand how special this place really is. Grumpy is going to be missing out!

Let me introduce everyone:

Myself, Summer: I'm 33 and think Walt Disney World is the most magical place on earth. I began saving and planning for this vacation almost a year ago and truly love doing the research and learning so much about WDW. I know the first time I walk into the Magic Kingdom, I'm sure to tear up.

Andy, DS, 12: He loves rides, all kinds. He is looking forward to Tower of Terror, Everest, pin trading, the Lego Store and will still get excited over the characters.

Russell, DS, 6: He is a Star Wars and Indiana Jones fanatic. He is hoping that he will get to participate in Jedi Training (cross our fingers) and is excited about meeting the characters. He is a bit of a chicken when it comes to some rides at a typical amusement park, but I think Disney is going to be perfect for him. I think he is going to absolutely love it.

Adam, DS, 5: My little guy is going to go crazy over the characters, the parades, and just the excitement of Disney. He loves Nemo and is looking forward to the Nemo ride at Epcot and Turtle Talk with Crush. We frequently go online to watch videos of the different rides and he gets so excited.

Autumn, DD, 2: My little princess absolutely loves Tinkerbell (and the Princesses). We are especially looking forward to shrinking to meet Tink and meeting the Princesses at Norway for breakfast. Even though she is so young, I think it's still going to be wonderful to watch her experience Disney. I know that she is going to love the music, the parades, the shows and so much more.

Granny & Papa Juan, My mom & stepdad: They are joining us on this adventure and wouldn't miss this for the world. For years they've been saying that when we go, they would love to come too. I am so happy that they will be there with us.

So that's everyone. We are a large group of 7 so for us we have decided to stay offsite. This was a decision that we tossed around for awhile and finally settled on renting a 4-bedroom home. There are so many people who think you have to stay onsite, and then you have those who think it's better offsite. I'm not sure which is best, but for us, I think having the extra space will be nice after a day at the park. The home we rented I found on Ebay in a classified listing and it turns out the family that owns it lives only 30 minutes from us. It's beautiful and has 4-bedrooms, 3-baths, gameroom, our own private pool, and so much more. At least after a long day, the kids can go to bed and I can relax.

The dates of our trip are Satuday, November 14 through Saturday, November, 28. This is the week before Thanksgiving and the week of Thanksgiving. I know that Thanksgiving week is supposed to be crazy, but we are really hoping that the week before will allow us to experience everything we want. Then during Thanksgiving week, we can focus on going back to our favorite attractions. We have 10-day park hopper tickets, and we also have 7-day passes for Universal/Islands of Adventure. We haven't created our daily plans yet (we're going to wait for park hours to be released), but are hoping to spend 2 days at Universal and 10 at Disney.

So far, we've rented the house, reserved our rental car, purchased tickets for Disney and Universal, purchased MVMCP Tickets and have been saving like crazy. We are holding off on airfare until the end of June when Southwest releases their schedule. I'm hoping that even though we're flying home (to Cleveland,OH) on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, that we'll still be able to get airfare in the $200-$250 roundtrip (cross our fingers again). I'll keep you posted!

 

[Raecheal]

I love how you have big family. I'm excited to read your pre-TR-- House, Rental Car, Tickets, MVMC: it seems like you have a great start!!

I"m in!!

 

[sumlthomp]

There are only 170 days to go until we leave for WDW!

I have been planning & saving for so long, yet there is still so much to do:

1. Book Airfare - I cannot wait for this to be set in place. It is such a large cost of our budget, and I'm eager to see what kind of rate we will actually get. DONE

2. Book ADR - We would like to eat at dinner at The Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey's and have breakfast at Norway with the Princesses. I'm eager to schedule these just so we know we're "in". I don't think we're going to have any problems, but we will see. I'll be calling right at that 90 day mark. DONE
3. Plan Daily Itinerary (once park hours are released) DONE

4. Create Disney Journal - I have so many great ideas for this from board. I am planning on creating one that will be a great keepsake after our trip. It is going to include trip information, daily journaling entries and a place for photos after our trip. I'm just beginning this project, but once I'm done, I'll post pictures. DONE

5. Print Autograph Cards - I think this is a great idea and will be easy to use to scrapbook after the trip. I've seen so many great designs on dis, now I just have to start printing my collection. - After more thought, I've decided to just cut white cardstock into 4 x 6 pieces and have the characters sign those. I think they'll be easier to scrapbook with after the trip.

6. Purchase a new camera bag for the trip. I have a small bag to hold my Rebel already, but I would like to purchase a new sling style bag to be able to use as my everything bag. Still trying to find the right one for me. There are just so many to choose from.

7. Create Mini Travel Organizer that we can carry with us in the parks. I would like to include trip information, car rental reservation info, airline info, ADR info, maps of the parks, touring schedule (hopefully we won't need so much), etc.

8. Create small Jedi Training sign

9. Activity Bags for all 4 kids - After reading HappyDog's PTR, I've decided to copy her idea of creating surprise bags filled with different activities for them to do on the plane. I've already collected some coloring books & activity books, now I just have to come up with more! I think this will be a great way to hopefully help occupy them on the plane especially if everything is new to them. I think they'll love it!

10. Create Autograph Books for the kids - I originally planned on purchasing books at the park, but now I think I'm going to create my own. I've seen some great ideas online just creating a decorative cover and using white cardstock inside. It'll be cheaper than purchasing books, plus I can customize them for each of the kids.

I'll continue to add to my list and update as we go. I'm sure there are so many more little things that are going to need to be done as we get closer.

I love Disney planning

 

[sumlthomp]

I love how you have big family. I'm excited to read your pre-TR-- House, Rental Car, Tickets, MVMC: it seems like you have a great start!!

I"m in!!

Thanks for joining in!

 

[mickeystoontown]

What a super cute family you have! I am sure that everybody is going to enjoy the trip. We've been going to WDW since our daugther was 11 and our son was 1. They are now 22 and 12 and have 13 trips under their belts.

I wanted to pass along a tip for getting chosen for Jedi Training. Our son tried three times before he was picked! The first two times, they picked someone right next to him which was a huge bummer for my guy. So, the last time, I went into the bathroom, pulled off a long strip of papertowels (about two foot long) and wrote THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM!!!! with a bright Sharpie. He held the banner up high and jumped up and down. Sure enough, he was chosen. Put "small Jedi Training" banner on your list of things to take along.

 

[sumlthomp]

What a super cute family you have! I am sure that everybody is going to enjoy the trip. We've been going to WDW since our daugther was 11 and our son was 1. They are now 22 and 12 and have 13 trips under their belts.

I wanted to pass along a tip for getting chosen for Jedi Training. Our son tried three times before he was picked! The first two times, they picked someone right next to him which was a huge bummer for my guy. So, the last time, I went into the bathroom, pulled off a long strip of papertowels (about two foot long) and wrote THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM!!!! with a bright Sharpie. He held the banner up high and jumped up and down. Sure enough, he was chosen. Put "small Jedi Training" banner on your list of things to take along.

Love that idea!!

Thanks for sharing - I will definitely add that to my list of things to do.

 

[sumlthomp]

I wanted to include some information & pictures of our rental house. The website for the house is puffsvacationhome.com. We reserved this house last spring which was a huge step for us. It was so exciting knowing that this was all really going to happen. Like I said earlier, I found this house in a classified listing on Ebay and the owner has been great to deal with. There are 2 master bedrooms with masters baths, 2 bedrooms with 2 twin beds in each, a game room, laundry room, kitchen, great room and best of all, our own pool. Plus, they have loads of ammenities that really appealed to us. There are flat screen TVs in each bedroom and of course a huge one in the great room. There is a Wii and Playstation 2 console plus the game room has an air hockey table, a pool table & much more! It's nice to know that when we are there, the kids will have plenty to keep them busy.

 

[sumlthomp]

After reading HappyDog's PTR, I've decided that I am going to make surprise bags of goodies for the kids to take with us on the plane ride. I've already purchased some activity books, stickers, tatoos and colored pencils from the Target $1 spot. I love that section because you never know what you're going to find. Last night, I purchased my first bag on Ebay for Autumn. It's a super cute Tinkerbell backpack and I think she's going to love it! Now I just need to find 3 more bags for the boys. I think this is going to be fun looking for fun activities & toys to put in their bags for the trip. What a great little surprise!

 

[sumlthomp]

156 Days to go!!!

Not much is happening right now as far as planning goes. The next big step is purchasing our airfare. Only 15 more days until Southwest releases their next schedule. I can't wait to see what their rates are going to be like. I keep checking AirTran, Continental and some of the others and they are all $250+ right now. I am still hoping that we may be able to get around $200 for each of us?? I'm crossing my fingers again.

We haven't created a daily itinerary yet since we are waiting for Disney to release their park hours. We do have just one day planned right now and that is Thursday, November 19th. We already have our tickets for MVMCP for that night, so now we decided to spend the morning/early afternoon at Downtown Disney. I just booked reservations at the new T-Rex Cafe for lunch. We even requested the Ice Room which is supposed to be pretty cool! I think the boys are going to love this!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I find that the waitin' is, truly, the hardest part. Once I was able to make our ADRs, I settled down a little bit. Too settled as a matter of fact. I started getting antsy waiting on the time to pass so I started a trip report of my own. Last August, we surprised our son with a trip to WDW and the vacation turned into somewhat of a comedy of mishaps. You should come over for a read. It'll help you pass the time too. The link is in my signature.

Lisa

 

[Raecheal]

156 Days to go!!!

Not much is happening right now as far as planning goes. The next big step is purchasing our airfare. Only 15 more days until Southwest releases their next schedule. I can't wait to see what their rates are going to be like. I keep checking AirTran, Continental and some of the others and they are all $250+ right now. I am still hoping that we may be able to get around $200 for each of us?? I'm crossing my fingers again.

We haven't created a daily itinerary yet since we are waiting for Disney to release their park hours. We do have just one day planned right now and that is Thursday, November 19th. We already have our tickets for MVMCP for that night, so now we decided to spend the morning/early afternoon at Downtown Disney. I just booked reservations at the new T-Rex Cafe for lunch. We even requested the Ice Room which is supposed to be pretty cool! I think the boys are going to love this!

The worst part is the wait. I"ll keep my fingers crossed for you with the airfare.
I always find airfare tricky... it got so out of hand constantly searching every single possible website that I have a new rule: Once i've gone and puchased my airfare.. I won't allow myself to look around. I always get disappointed IF/WHEN I find a flight cheaper... and the whole situation just stressed me out.

I"m def. excited to read your itinerary.. if only Disney would release those hours.. geez.

 

[sumlthomp]

5 Months to go!!

I can't even believe that it's just 5 months away now!

Every day I read these boards looking for tips and ideas for planning a great vacation. I am taking notes, saving & budgeting and getting more and more anxious!

Latest news budget-wise, I do Sunshine Rewards regularly and am $8 away from cashing out for my fourth $50 Disney Gift Card. When I originally signed up for SR and created my budget for our trip, I had hoped to make about $30. Now I'm at almost $200 and hoping to make at least another $100 before Nov. I am so excited. I think that money will help pay for our character meals.


Southwest is releasing their next schedule in just 9 days - I'll share updates and also some info about our great gift card deals! You're going to love this!

 

[Raecheal]

It's nice to hear that your making some extra money.. that's always a good thing. I"m thinking about getting a part time job... but i'm just too busy this summer.

Any updates?

 

[sumlthomp]

It has been a while since I have updated our pre-trip report and alot has happened. I have included a link so you can read about the gift card scam that I was a victim of - I was devastated at the time, but have reevaluated my budget to ensure that we are going even though this has happened.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33101982#post33101982

We did book our flights for November 14 and November 28 - Southwest Airlines Customer Service was great. I called them on June 23 after everything had happened to see if they would be able to help me out in any way - The wonderful customer service agent gave me $79 each way for all 7 of us!!! What a blessing after all that had happened!!

I just finished my Trip Journal & it turned out great!! I'll post some pictures later.

November hours just came out, so I have been working on a spreadsheet breaking down all of the park hours and special events. We have just 95 days to go, so we are going to be booking our ADR within the next week or two. I'm so excited. We are still planning on doing Norway with the Princesses, Chef Mickey and Crystal Palace.

I have several other projects to do now that I finished my Trip Journal - I'm going to start making each of the kids their own Autograph Books and Epcot Passports.

Thanks for joining in our pre-trip report!!

 

[sumlthomp]

I wanted to include pictures of my Trip Journal that I just completed. I created this journal so that I could have a great keepsake with daily journal entries and photos. I even included daily favorites for each of my kids.

Front Cover

Inside Front Cover

Daily Journal Pages

4 x 6 Photo Sleeves

Inside Back Cover

Back Cover

 

[sumlthomp]

I'm so excited - we are officially less than 90 days away!!

We have been working on planning our days, parks & some character meals.

So far, we have planned which parks we will be going to during our first week there.

Sun, Nov 15 - Magic Kingdom - Including breakfast at Crystal Palace
Mon, Nov 16 - Hollywood Studios
Tue, Nov 17 - Animal Kingdom
Wed, Nov 18 - Epcot - Including breakfast at Norway with the Princesses (Illuminations)
Thur, Nov 19 - Downtown Disney - lunch at T-Rex, MVMCP @ Magic Kingdom
Fri, Nov 20 - Hollywood Studios - Dinner at Chef Mickey
Sat, Nov 21 - Magic Kingdom (Spectromagic & Wishes)
Sun, Nov 22 - Epcot

We have not planned which parks we will be visting from Mon, Nov 23 - Fri, Nov 27. We have 10-day park tickets which we hope to use completely. Plus we have Universal tickets and are hoping to do 2 days there (1 at each park).

I made our first reservation today for Crystal Palace! We have been planning this trip for so long, so it's pretty exciting to be able to start "planning" more of the details.

I also am trying to make a little more money before we go, so I listed my trip journal on Etsy & today I sold my first one!! Hopefully I'll be able to sell a few more before we go and make a little money! I also sold 3 autograph books - which I'm hoping I can sell more of those too! Every little bit adds up!

 

[sumlthomp]

Only 82 days to go!!

Today I made our 3rd ADR - we are officially doing Crystal Palace on Sunday, 11/15 for breakfast, the Princess Storybook Breakfast on Wed, 11/18 & Chef Mickey on Fri, 11/20 for dinner!!

I am getting so excited. I really can't even believe that we are this close now. I am working on little projects right now like Epcot Passports for the kids, Autograph Books, Jedi Training Signs & more. I feel like I have so much to do and I'm sure these last 82 days are just going to fly by. I'll share some pictures as I finish our projects.

Thanks for joining in!

 

[reyasmommy]

I'm LOVING your PTR thus far! Your journal is amazing and so creative! I can't wait to see your autograph book designs ((maybe I'll buy one from ya)) I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to get one for DD yet, because when we went to DLR last year she was terrified of all the characters and wouldn't go anywhere near them.


I also wanted to mention how adorable your kids are. Your DD reminds me a little of my own. She's going to have a fabulous time despite her age. I took my daughter when she was 6 months old, 18 months old, and 2 1/2 years old and it was a wonderful experience each and every time. We're taking her again in March, she'll be just shy of her 4th birthday, but I'm the most excited about this trip because she finally "GET'S IT" She's constantly asking to go to Dizzy World to meet mickey mouse and all the princesses.

I look forward to reading more.

 

[mickeysmyboy]

I'm in!! Sometimes it takes a bit to get readers, especially faithful ones that come back each post and respond!

You have a beautiful family! It sounds like you have great trip planned! Your vacation home looks so cool! Your kids are going to have a wonderful time there!

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your trip journal!! Mind if I ask how you made it?!

I'm so sorry about the gift card scam! That's just awful! It makes me sick that people try to take advantage of people like that!! I've heard numerous stories of people buying park tickets on ebay and craigslist and then getting to the parks and finding out they aren't valid! I can't even imagine how those poor people react!

Anyway, can't wait to read more!

 

[sumlthomp]

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your trip journal!! Mind if I ask how you made it?!

Thanks!

The cover of the book is chipboard which I covered with Glimmer Mist and patterned paper. On the inside front cover, I doodled the circle dots and decorated with a Mickey head and WDW lettering that I cut from my Quickutz Silhouette (die cut machine). The dividers were also cut on my Silhouette. The journaling pages I designed on Microsoft Works Spreadsheet. I even found the Mickey head clip art online and was able to use Photoshop Elements to add the days to it. The inside back cover has another Mickey head cut out. I punched everything using the Bind-it-all, but my book was way to big to bind using their wire binding. Fortunately, Copy Max had the black spiral binding that fit perfectly. The finishing touch is the ribbon with the metal rimmed tag tied to the front. I am very pleased with how it turned out and am so excited to fill it with all of our Disney memories!

Thanks for joining in!!