The Wilson's Do DL - final day, final thoughts, finally going back to DL????

[mommyof2boys1girl]

Not long now, so I decided to do a pre-trip report to purge all the daily 'disneyana' that seems to be ruling my life! I am living, breathing, eating and sleeping this trip already! Only 46 more days!!

First, cast of characters....

Me - Carm, 32 year old stay at home mom (or, as I like to say, retired geologist), anal retentive planning freak, confessed list addict, recently become DL freak. Have always loved disney movies - can recite most lines from several films, but deep down I always figured Disneyland was for people with kids. So once our kids got old enough for us to take them, I felt justified in planning our trip!

Dh - fairly unimaginative, slightly rigid and control-freaky geological engineer (goes with the territory I guess) - not much into Disney - in fact, I have been furthering his education along with the boys by watching some new films in preparation for our trip. But he is excited for the kids' sake, and I think, if he can learn to let go a little and just roll with things a bit, he'll have a good time too!

Ds1 - Logan - This is HIS trip - we've decided to go for every child's 5th birthday. Very excited to meet Buzz, not so much for the princesses "I only want to see the one from the movie with the mouseies (cinderella), and I really just wanna meet her mousies - I don't need to give her a hug."

Ds2 - Adam - Also pretty excited - main motivation for potty training is to be big enough to go to DL! Very excited about getting to see McQueen (will be slightly disappointed that now he can't "give him a hug", but oh well....)

DD1 - Allie - will be 19 months - favorites are Mickey and Pooh, but I am trying to remember that she will probably be scared of the characters and I will have to not force them on her!

Our first trip anywhere will be taken to DL April 29-May 6. First flight for the kids (yikes!), first vacation since we had kids, first hotel stay of more than 2 nights, first time ever to Disneyland (obviously!)

But I think we are in fairly good shape. Kids have passports (whew - really major relief when those came back and were accepted the first time - friends of ours took almost 4 months of refusals and reapplications! That would have put a major glich in our plans!!)

I have tentantive (sp? sorry) touring plans for our 7 day trip in April/May. The first few days are intense - fairly detailed and hopefully we can stick to them. My current plan is to try and do as much as possible before the busy weekend - we arrive on a Tuesday in the late afternoon, so Wed - Fri will be our major touring times to get as much done as possible.
Wed is Fantasyland, Thurs is our Magic Morning (Nemo here we come!), Friday is Mickey's Toontown MM, and Saturday is our "day of rest" from the parks - we do DTD, Goofy's bfast, etc, but no parks. Sunday is our 'do everything we didn't already do that is only showing on weekends - ie F!, Fireworks, shows, etc...) Monday has almost no schedule or plan - it's our last day, so I am gonna leave it up to the kids to decide what we do - they will be allowed to pick their favorite rides and attractions, and we can do them again and again! (That's also what we will use some of the time on Saturday for - taking a step back and deciding what to do with our last 2 days...)

Kids are ages 19 mo, 3 and 5, so we'll be avoiding most of the more popular attractions (HM, ToT, SM, and most of the adult rides in DCA.) We're hoping this makes it easier to do some other things in the afternoons, since we won't (hopefully) be doing the busier attractions.
We're also planning to return to our hotel (Camelot) for the afternoons for a siesta - all my kids still nap every afternoon, so I think they will REALLY need naps after going hard at DL each morning. We are 'early to bed, early to rise' types, so we will be opening the park each morning, but perhaps not closing it down each night.

We have a local amusement park here, which we often go to in the summer, but the kids usually poop out by 1pm and ask to go home. In order to not overwhelm them at DL, we are going to try and stick to our normal schedule as if we were at home.

So my main jobs now are to:
make sure everyone is up to date on dr's visits, vaccinations, etc...
check the inventory of summer clothes (it's still winter here, so shorts weather is still about 4 months away!! Gotta dig through the storage room to find all the summer stuff.... )
buy shoes for everyone so they are broken in in time for the trip
book PS's for our 2 character b-fasts
book any other PS's for other restaraunts
locate a side by side stroller (preferably used - to save $$)
purchase an Ergo for the baby


and of course, a zillion other things I can't think of right now!

Ok, I'd better quit typing and get busy! Oldest ds and I are off to the mall today to buy shoes and summer clothes for whoever needs them, so I guess I am off to tackle that storage room....

 

[kylieh]

But I think we are in fairly good shape. Kids have passports (whew - really major relief when those came back and were accepted..

Certainly understand that feeling. We had a few probs when we submitted our DDs. We had to quickly find a Justice of the Peace (similar to a Notary I believe) to authorise some docs, even though it wasn't mentioned on the passport application form! Fortunatley, there was one in the store next door.

We have a local amusement park here, which we often go to in the summer, but the kids usually poop out by 1pm and ask to go home. In order to not overwhelm them at DL, we are going to try and stick to our normal schedule as if we were at home

DD5 will be exhauseted also by lunch time, mid afternoon if we're lucky. We get annual passes to the zoo and so forth so we don't feel "ripped off" if we need to leave early.


Ooh, and I forgot to add - have a wonderful trip. Can't wait to read about it.

 

[mommyof2boys1girl]

Easter Sunday and only 37 more days to go. As I sit here and smell the turkey roasting in the oven, I realize I can scratch some things off my "to do before DL" list.

Bought the Ergo - both DD and middle ds (3) can ride in it! In fact, we went to the zoo yesterday for a family day off (and to break in our new shoes - another thing off my list!), and when he got tired and asked to be carried, he said I should have brought that "sing dat you wear dat I ride in..." - meaning the Ergo! So it was a success with him, at least!

Also worked out the double stroller - friend of mine has one that we can borrow, has 2 seats side by side, 2 separate sun visors, basket for goodies underneath, etc....everything I was looking for, and it's FREE!! Woohoo!

Also went through the summer clothes - everyone had enough, except me and dh. So I went on a shopping spree yesterday and I now have everything I need, including 2 new pairs of sketchers!!

Dh and the kids all have new runners, which we will break in over the next month so no one is wearing brand new shoes.

Guess that's about it....the time is going faster than I thought it would, but hopefully everything will be getting done.

 

[MommyWithDreams]

Looking forward to all your hard work of planning the trip paying off! I will be checking back for updates.

 

[bumbershoot]

Did not know you had a pre-trippie going. Thanks for telling me over on the main forum!

Your 3 year old talks like mine does. Too cute.

 

[mommyof2boys1girl]

Yikes - only a month left!! Guess I had better get my butt in gear!

I am compiling the most comprehensive packing list known to man, and I am going to bite the bullet next week and make our PS`s for Goofy`s and Lilo and Stitch. I`ve been putting it off long enough (still not sure why, exactly ), and as soon as I talk like a human being instead of a walking germ , I will be calling the nice people at Dinsey!

Ordered contact lenses and bought new sunglasses today. Booked checkups and vaccinations for the kids so all medical stuff is up to date before we skip the country!
Dh is going in for laser eye surgery next week, so I will have a very grumpy boy on my hands for the week while he recovers, which will probably drive me INSANE having him underfoot for an entire week! However, it might let me get some errands run while the kids nap - he can `parent` while I get some other things accomplished.

My next major hurdle is the birthday party! Who else would be crazy enough to have 10 five year old boys and their parents/siblings over for a party 3 days before we fly to DL!!! Gotta work out the menu, plan games (not sure if I will bother - last year they just wanted to play with all the toys we had that were different from their own toys), goodie bags, etc...the whole 9 yards! ARG!

I am also getting incredibly excited at the prospect of Spring!!! Dh came home from the hardware store the other night with some fabulous new solar landscape garden lights, so I had to go out today and clean all the dead stuff out of my flowerbeds! My tulip and daffodil bulbs are poking thru and I am just so excited that everything isn`t dead anymore!

Off to bed now, to dream about Disneyland and all the things that could go wrong and all the fun we will have!

 

[PirateFish989]

I wish I was going to Disneyland in a month!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[bumbershoot]

I thought of something yesterday for E's birthday, and since you're going to celebrate b'days while there, I wanted to mention it to you. With the b'day button, one "free" thing you guys can get is a pack of fresh tortillas during the tortilla factory tour at DCA.

We eat that brand of tortillas often (Mission), and they are OK, but WOW was that one free tortilla good when fresh off the machine.

So we're definitely taking DS through with his b'day button, to get a whole fresh pack of 'em.

Hope you like tortillas so this tip is a good one for you.

 

[mommyof2boys1girl]

Molly - thanks for the tip. We weren't really planning to do the tortilla factory tour, but now that I know we get free tortillas (yum), we'll be there! Have to go early on in our trip, so we can snack on tortillas in the room! and for the record, we LOVE tortillas, and ours are never fresh! (shoot, now I want a tortilla!!!)

Dh is getting really sick of hearing about my plans for the trip. I try to use him as my sounding board, but he's pretty much tuning out the minute he hears the word "disney" now, so I guess I'm on my own. Boy is he gonna regret not paying attention when we get there! He's not good at taking orders/directions/suggestions, etc..., so he's gonna be so lost when I say "take Logan on Snow White - Adam and Allie and I are heading over to ride Dumbo again, and we'll hook up again at the Grotto before using our FP's for Buzz!" It's going to be like trying to learn a foreign language on the fly!!

Loving Google Earth right now - it's helping me familiarize myself with the layout of the parks, and with the help of the maps Minnie sent (thanks Molly!), I can mesh the two images together to get a hopefully good idea of scale and distance from one thing to the next. I must admit, though I've been told everything is pretty close together, I am still surprised by how little walking distance there will be between a lot of things.

And right now I am really torn between being incredibly excited that we are only 30 days away from boarding a plane to LA, and being incredibly AFRAID because we are ONLY 30 days away from boarding a plane!!!

I am truly in need of some professional help!

 

[bumbershoot]

Laughing at your hubby's reaction to you trying to talk to him about it all.

Last night I had my first GOOD conversation with hubby about any of our Disney trips. And it isn't even about this one, or even one that we know we're going on! I'm really scattered and wanted to talk about Disneyworld, and he "let me" read from the menus of the snootier restaurants, and for the first time he got all excited about going to Disneyworld and "dining", rather than just eating somewhere. Guess I just had to figure out what language to use on him.

Love tortillas! The tour is kinda silly. There's a cartoony film you watch in an outer room, then the doors open and you're in the "factory". I was chatting with some strangers and suddenly we were at the end, we all had to walk back and see the machinery from the beginning b/c we didn't realize how small it was in there!

First flight, woohoo!

 

[mommyof2boys1girl]

Woo hoo! 22 days and counting!

Arrangements almost made for ds's b-day party 3 days before we leave.

Found out this weekend that our flight times were changed - we now fly out and arrive at LAX an hour later (boo hoo), and leave 3 hours earlier! Which, when we back out the 2 hours we need at the airport (international flight), and the hour it will take to get to LAX from Camelot, we're talking checking out of the hotely by 7am! Not that we won't be awake, I just dread needing to be that organized - I know I won't sleep the night before we go worrying about everything I have to get done the next morning to get everyone (including dh - not much of a 'get up and pitch in to get everyone else going' kind of guy....)

Otherwise things are coming together ok. I bought a new park bag (on sale, no less ) the other day - it will hold diaper changes for both kids (ds#2 is in the midst of potty training - he's doing well, but I think we'll be relying heavily on pull ups for the holiday - too much to ask of him to remember to go pee when he's having so much fun!), wipes, hand sanitizer, sunscreen, kleenex, a couple small cars, bubbles, snacks and treats to keep kids amused during lines/waits in restaraunts, etc. It won't hold much for changes of clothes/water/extra shoes, etc.... but I think we may skip carring all of that around with us too often. On days I know we will be near the water spray parks, we'll bring spare clothes and shoes in a backpack, but since we're going back to the hotel every afternoon for naps, we hopefully won't need full changes of clothes each day.
I've done a semi-dry run on the suitcase packing - basically just setting out all the clothes I think we'll need and stuffing them in a suitcase - very low tech! But I think we should be able to fit everything into two large and one small suitcase, providing dh doesn't pack his usual 15 shirts and 10 pair of pants! He always overpacks!!!
Sadly, our ticket package from AAA still has not arrived, which is making me a little nervous! Our TA is away on vacation till tomorrow, so hopefully she'll get on that when she gets in!
Still haven't made our ps's either - dh has been underfoot for the past week - he had Laser Eye surgery last Tues, and has been recovering at home ever since. So I've had to chauffeur him around the city every day last week, and now he wants me to ferry him to and from the train so he can get to and from work. IMO, if you aren't legal to drive, you shouldn't be at work, but whatever!

So that's about all - just trying to roll with the punches and still have everything ready and organized....

 

[mommyof2boys1girl]

Still in the packing mode - trying to decide what should go in the carry on bags for the kids.
Thinking along the lines of:
2 sticker books
1 dry erase activity book and markers
2 or 3 favorite story books (also good for bedtimes at hotel)
Color Wonder coloring book and markers
Playing cards for games
snacks
juice and water (to buy after passing thru security)
Diapers and wipes
change of clothes in case of lost/delayed luggage
sanitizing wipes (for yuccy hands)

Bags for Mom and Dad
Laptop
movies
headphones
tylenol for adults
tylenol for kids (chewable)
tylenol for infants (small bottle)
pepto bismol
tums
allergy medications
dh's prescription eye drops
wallets, id, etc
tickets and travel docs


There's probably a lot of important things I have missed, but hopefully those will come to light over the next couple weeks - part of the reason I am doing this so early.


Our tickets have finally arrived - we pick them up at CAA tomorrow (just before I take my eldest and my youngest to get vaccinations - wow will I be a bad guy tomorrow!!) We also go to pick up my eldest Ds's new shoes tomorrow - Sketchers Airators!! He is so excited! So the day will be full of highs and lows.

Can't decide between taking one really huge suitcase and 2 smaller ones, or 4 smaller suitcases. Will have to pack it both ways to see what works better. Borrowed an insanely expandable suitcase from my Mom - goes from being a 1.5 ft tall duffel on wheels to a 4 foot tall duffel on wheels! The kids can stand up in the thing!

getting closer now....

 

[davidsprincess]

Hey! I am enjoying your pre-trippie! You will be fine. Just keep making your lists !
Don't mean to add extra stress to you at this time,lovestruc) but I heard that you can only bring 1 bag per person and that it can weigh no more than 50 punds. I hope that helps you to decide on how much luggage to bring. You will have fun.

Just a tip for you when you get to your hotel and are putting everything away. MAKE SURE YOU REMEMBER WHERE YOU "HIDE" YOUR PASSPORTS WHEN UNPACKING! I hid mine so well on our last trip that the night before we came home when I was getting everything ready, I couldn't find it Needless to say I was in a bit of a panic and running around like a chicken with it's head cut off . Only now can I laugh. Another option is to use the saftey boxes at the hotel or if you have an in-room safe then you will always know where your passports are.

Also, have lots and lots and lots of fun. I am sure that your kids will love Dl (okay, you will too). Take lots of pictures and the one thing that I can say is: enjoy DL through your kids' eyes. It is the only way to go when you have little ones.

Will be waiting patiently for your TR when you get home!

 

[bumbershoot]

I highly recommend more, smaller, suitcases. If it's all in one, if that puppy gets lost....whereas if you use more suitcases, being sure to put some of everyone's stuff in each (I hate doing that -it makes it difficult!), then if you lose one you're not bereft.


Also, remember that First Aid at DL and DCA have pain medication. I don't know if they have kid's or infant's specifically, but they certainly had a variety when I went in Jan and had a near migraine!

 

[mobopolo]

I'm loving your "before" the trip TR! You pack the same way and the same things for carry-ons that I do. Don't forget a few Band-Aids. My older son was so excited on our last vacation that he tripped and skinned his knee... Thank goodness for the Neosporin and the Band-Aids! FYI, make sure the liquid Tylenol is the smallest bottle. We just had some friends fly, and the Security took their liquid Motrin away. (To large). It has to be 3 oz. and in the original container. The toddler cried on the plane (maybe ears)? Also another tip I got for packing. If possible, put a smaller suitcase inside of a larger one, then pack as you normally would. Then when you get there, you have one free empty suitcase to pack all the fun stuff you'll buy on your trip. Just don't go over your bag or weight limit.
You are going to have a wonderful time and I think it's great how you have a plan, but are totally up for what-ever. And your husband sounds just like mine! I'm looking forward to hearing more.

 

[Disney owl]

looking forward to reading more

 

[DLR29]

Just found this today! Great start. It's getting closer!

 

[mommyof2boys1girl]

Wow - it's really getting close now!

I am finally finished the "Wilson Family Odyssey" - otherwise known as our itinerary! Drumroll please....Ta da! Here is the venerated itinerary, as dh says, missing only the number of steps from one attraction to the next.

I apologize in advance to anyone who actually reads this on purpose...this is mainly an exercise for me to re-examine this plan and see if it actually makes sense. Please feel free to comment, those of you with staying power , on anything that doesn't seem right.

Day 1 - Land in LAX @3, hopefully arrive at Camelot around 5 (leaving 2 hrs for airport mess, transfer to hotel, wandering around lost , etc.)
Settle in at hotel, and head for DTD for dinner at Rainforest Cafe (ps's for 6:30) shop and head for bed early

Day 2 - (Wed)
Leave hotel by 9, park opens @ 10. Head straight to FL, ride PP, Dumbo, Alice, teacups, carousel, Casey Jr. May ride some other dark rides - depends on how ds 2 handles things (he can be a little timid in a strange environment).
Hopefully it's only around 11 - head to TL, grab FP's for Buzz, eat lunch @ Red Rocket's. Ride anything interesting in TL.
Give kids option to ride DLRR to wind down from the morning.
Stop at City Hall on our way back to hotel for naps, grab "first visit" pins and birthday pins for boys
Nap from 1 to 4ish
Head back to parks around 4 - go to CA and do Bug's Land
Watch PPP @ 5:15
Head back to DL for dinner at Carnation Cafe around 6ish
Ride Jungle Cruise, play at Tarzan's Treehouse,maybe even ride Pooh if we have the energy. Head back to TL, ride Buzz again! (Ds1 talks about nothing but this ride - he plays the online version at home!), then head home for bed!

Day 3 - (thurs) MM
- leave hotel by 8:30 to be in line for MM @ 9
Two options here: I am having a really hard time deciding if the Nemo ride is going to be worth "wasting" our MM for, so on day 2 we are going to take a quick look at it and then let the kids decide if they want to redo FL or ride Nemo - we'll have lots of opportunities during the rest of our 4 days to ride it during parades or before closing, etc...and I am really battling with spending our only MM in line for one ride!
Option 1) RUN to Nemo and stand in line. Once done, head to FL and ride anything with short lines
Option 2) walk briskly to FL and redo kids favorite rides, plus any we are 'brave' enough to try for the first time!
Head to TL, ride anything there of interest, probably grab more FP's for Buzz. Saunter over to CC, ride pooh and grab lunch at Hungry Bear, dessert at the candy store!
Head back thru Adventureland - Ride JC, TT, or take in Tiki Rm. Grab a Dole Whip!
Back to hotel by 1 for naps.
Back to CA ~4. Redwood Ck Chlng or Rustworthy (bring dry clothes!)
Grab quick early dinner @ Taste Pilot's ~5
Head to DL to stake out spot near Alice for 7pm Parade. Kids can grab snax or do any short line rides while we wait.
Back to hotel for bed!

Day 4 - (Fri)MTTMM
Leave hotel by 8, park opens @ 9
Straight to TT, play till 10:30.
Head over to CA, do Monsters Inc, sun wheel, zephyr, etc...
Grab Mickey bread from PW
Do Tortilla tour - get birthday tortillas (yum!)
Back to hotel - grab McD's, eat in room, and nap.
Return to CA ~3:30pm. catch PHD @4:15
Do Puddle Park or other water attractions (if hot), or Redwood Ck or Bug's Land rides again.
Grab dinner in DL @ Carnation Cafe, River Belle or Plaza Inn
Ride Columbia or Mark Twain. Blow off steam at Pirates Lair. Stake out spot near 'magic pillar' for F! (if I can find it!).
Watch 9:00 show of F!, watch fireworks if the kids are still awake.
Head back to hotel for sleep.

Day 5 (sat) - day of rest from parks

sleep in (all the way till 7 if we're lucky!)
Bfast @ Goofy's Kitchen - ps's for 9:30
shop, play, swim, eat, and rest. Spend some time discussing favorite things with kids, and what they'd like to do the last 2 days...

Day 6 (sun)

- Leave hotel by 7
- 8-10am DL - do whatever kids want.
- 10 head to CA, ride whatever. ]
- Aladdin @ 12:25


Day 7 - last day...booo hoooo
bfast with Lilo and Stitch (ps's for 8)
back at gates by 9:30

basically whole day is kids choice - all about doing what they want before we leave.

Well - there it is.

 

[DLR29]

Sounds like you really have listened a lot to the advice on these boards because the plan looks near perfect. One little tip you might want to be aware of is that on Friday I see you have Columbia/Mark Twain/Pirate's Lair in the evening, but those usually close early in preparation for Fantasmic, so it might be better (unless you have time I think the island closes at "dusk" so whenever that is) to do those on a different day.

Since you will have tons of time to do what you want (and more) I don't see a problem with riding Nemo during your MM (even though most of the time I do). That means if they really like it, then you might want to ride it again later during a parade or closing time.

 

[mommyof2boys1girl]

Sounds like you really have listened a lot to the advice on these boards because the plan looks near perfect. One little tip you might want to be aware of is that on Friday I see you have Columbia/Mark Twain/Pirate's Lair in the evening, but those usually close early in preparation for Fantasmic, so it might be better (unless you have time I think the island closes at "dusk" so whenever that is) to do those on a different day.

Since you will have tons of time to do what you want (and more) I don't see a problem with riding Nemo during your MM (even though most of the time I do). That means if they really like it, then you might want to ride it again later during a parade or closing time.

Thanks DLR29! Forgot about ROA area closing down due to F! - but, as you say, we will hopefully have lots of time to do that earlier in the day or even on a different day. I am hoping we can get done what we want in the mornings and then just kind of spend the afternoons wherever we want, blowing off steam.
As for Nemo, We'll see how our first day of FL touring goes. If we've ridden everything we want, and we can be close to the first sub to leave on MM, we might do it. Otherwise, we can do it later...trying to be flexible and not a commando touring mom....

off to make ps's - wish me luck that I haven't procrastinated too long!!