There’s No Turning Back Now! 7/23 - Link to my new PTR!

[Tink-erin-belle]

really looking forward to hearing your new plans, there is so much fun in panning a Disney holiday. you'll have a whole load of new lists to make!! enjoy the planning xx

tinkerbells mum! You know me! I have lists of the lists I have to make!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Before I get started on this update, let me show you something. You will not BELIEVE what a friend let me borrow!

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Wowza! My friend from work is a great photographer and she and I have been discussing photography and sharing pictures with each other. Of course all of mine were from my mediocre point and shoot or even worse, from my phone! Well, actually, my pictures are pretty decent, I think, but compared to the ones she would take with her DSLR…well, there was no comparison! So since she knew I was thinking of buying a DSLR in the near future, she surprised me on Friday by letting me borrow one of her cameras! She said I could borrow it for a few weeks, I would just have to get some AA batteries and a memory card, and I could see if I really liked using it before I invested a lot of money in buying my own. I couldn’t believe her generosity! Plus, it is perfect timing because my kids’ birthdays are around the corner and I will certainly be taking tons of pictures! So I got the batteries and the memory card yesterday and I am charging the batteries right now. So hopefully I can take the camera out for a spin a little later today! I can’t wait to use it, but boy is it heavy! I knew it was going to be heavy, but not THAT heavy! I have no idea how you guys with these big cameras carry them around all day in the parks! If I end up liking this camera and find myself buying one of my own, I think I’m going to have to start lifting weights to prepare for carrying it all day!

So, back to the PTR, what’s so different now that I can be so sure that we are going to Disney in October? Well, let me briefly go over what happened to cause me to reschedule the birthday trip. I kinda hate thinking about it, but this will give me closure and I can start fresh As I said before, I took a promotion that resulted in a pay cut and I haven’t gotten child support in so long, I can’t remember. OK, OK, I can remember, but this PTR is about positivity I was aware of my financial situation when I started planning this trip, so what went wrong? We aren’t struggling by any means and thank goodness I have a great job at a wonderful company with fantastic benefits. I’m not going to give you a single-mom-sob-story (even though I certainly could) because I consider myself blessed to have what I do and to be able to provide for my kids and help out my family. It hasn’t always been that way though, and I recognize that I have worked my you-know-what off to be able to finally build a career. Plus, I’m practically starting over again by taking a very technical position at my job recently. So I can still remember very clearly what it was like to struggle and because of that, it makes me very cautious of making bad financial decisions. Sure, I deserved that trip that I planned for April, and my kids would’ve been over the moon to be in WDW for their birthdays, but it wasn’t practical. My emergency fund was all but non-existent, and being a single mom with a single income, that was a very scary thing. I know I could have pulled the vacation off, but the question became *should* I pull the vacation off? A voice in the back of my mind was saying that I shouldn’t and, let’s face it, the voices in my head are ALWAYS right! Seriously though, I wanted to make sure our next trip to WDW was truly magical – and my kids would’ve been able to tell if something was nagging at me.

Our trips in 2008 and 2009 were a blast. Those vacations were just what we needed. Both times, we stayed on a package with park hoppers and the DDP (in 2009 the DDP was free!). I paid the trip off little by little, was done by the 45 day mark and I only had to take money for gas, tips and souvenirs! Best of all, I didn’t have any bills from the trip after we came home. That’s how Mama likes it! With the birthday trip, it was a room-only reservation, so I had no incentive to pay the trip off in advance. I paid deposits and brought some supplies ahead of time, but I was waiting for that big ‘ol refund check from Uncle Sam! Plus, I didn’t want to sacrifice our lifestyle for a vacation. I wrote “lifestyle” like we are soooooooooo fancy LOL but you know what I mean. I like to have fun with the kids by going to the movies, going out to events and making the most out of the time that we get to spend together on the weekends since the weekdays are so hectic. On top of that, life happens and there are car repairs, Winter wardrobes and Christmas gifts for goodness sakes! Yeah, I was counting on that refund check big time! There was no way I was touching the little bit of savings I had left – especially since my 38th birthday sent me into a mini freak out about retirement planning – so I was disappointed when that refund check wasn’t what I’d hoped. I guess I should’ve been glad that dear old Uncle Sam wasn’t holding onto that much of my money interest free for a year Let’s face it, a tax-refund isn’t an interest bearing account! It’s just that I thought that my pay cut put me in a different tax bracket. Oh well, I was wrong and I didn’t hit the tax refund lotto! THIS is why I don’t gamble! I’ve been to Vegas, Atlantic City, heck, I’ve even been to the slots in West Virginia, and I haven’t gambled more than $20! Total! I’m not kidding! I played less than $5 in Vegas, Less than $5 in AC and about $10 in WV but that was only because I’ve been there twice! Sure, the vacation would’ve been doable if I had switched the resort to a Value (which I did) and downgraded the Annual Passes (which I decided to do) but what would’ve been the point of a vacation if I came home to stress?

So this time, I’m paying things off little by little as if this was just another vacation package instead of a room-only reservation. My tax refund went to a couple of bills and to replenish my emergency fund – and that is a relief! Oh, and I sort of started my Pampered Chef business – but really all I have done so far is order the kit and try out some of the products. I’ve got to put some shows together soon so that I can hopefully get another income stream started! Anyway, back to the trip: First I have to pay for transportation. Guess what, guys? We’re flying this time! Since this is a super-long weekend trip, we don’t have time to take a 13-14 hour road trip each way. I’ve been stalking Southwest just in case something good pops up, but I’ll probably just get the tickets after the kids’ birthdays. I’m excited because True has never been on a plane and Coy hasn’t been on one since he was about 2, so he doesn’t remember. I enjoy our road trips, but it will be nice for once to just hop on a plane and be in Orlando in a couple of hours. Then I have to book our rental car. AAA gives a great discount on Hertz and sometimes if you pay in advance for the rental, there is an additional discount. I’m not sure if they do that in MCO, so I have a little research to do. Since the car is mostly for going to and from the parks and maybe doing a Target run, I can get a cheap compact car rather than expensive road trip worthy SUV or mid-sized vehicle. If I can pre-pay the car, it is non-refundable, so I really wouldn’t be able to turn back on my vacation plans! “Non-refundable” is a scary term, but if the discount is significant, I’m doing it just so I can have one more thing crossed off of my list!

I’m waiting for the AP discounts to be released for our dates. When they are, I’m going to change our room-only reservation at POR to a room-only on the AP rate. Thank goodness for the CM who helped me change my reservation for the old trip – she told me the AP discount had to be applied before check-in! I had no idea and could’ve sworn the AP discount could only be applied if you actually had an AP in hand. So after the AP discount is released, and after I’ve at least paid for our plane tickets, I’ll pay off our room at POR! Speaking of which, I got my first piece of Disney mail for this trip, confirming the resort info and the balance due (which isn’t bad, but the AP discount will make it better!)




I’m patiently waiting for the MNSSHP dates to be officially released. When the tickets go on sale, I’m going to snap ours up! In the meantime, I have ADRs to plan! The one we’re doing for sure is dinner at CRT on our last park day – and we all know that has to be paid in advance. Other than that, I think we’ll only do breakfast at Crystal Palace and Tusker House. Maybe we’ll do a dinner at T-Rex since Coy really wants to go there. Oh, Garden Grill, how I will miss you! The kids and I just can’t do a sit-down meal in EP and pass up the chance to nosh around the “world” at F&W! So I will have to estimate the cost of a lap around F&W (plus a Grey Goose slushy!) counter service meals and snacks for the rest of our trip. I don’t use my credit cards/debit cards on vacation because I have trust issues so I will get a Visa or an Amex gift card and put money on that for our food expenses and get a separate one for our souvenirs.

After that, I’ll only have the Photopass CD to pre-pay. Then I’ll be able to take care of the BIG expense: The Annual Passes! That is quite a chunk of change, but it does make sense because I’m certain we’ll be back for a week-long trip within 12 months. Either it will be just me and the kids again or it will be me, the kids and my sibs. I really want to do thee sibling trip because guess what? My youngest brother is getting married! He proposed to his long-time girlfriend and I am so excited for him! I love her! They are getting married in about two years or less – no dates set in stone yet – so I would really like to do a trip next Summer since it might be one of our last opportunities to vacation as a family before they start their own family Sorry. Tangent. I’m just excited for them. My sisters and I are throwing them an engagement party within the next few months. Something else to plan! I adore planning parties! But let me get back to planning this trip

The point I was going to make before my mind wandered was that my plan is to have all pre-payable stuff paid off by the 45 day mark to our trip. I’m treating this trip as if it is a package and will have everything paid off on or before August 23rd! I’ll just need cash for the gas, tolls, tips and pressed pennies and quarters! The beauty of this plan is that it puts very little stress on my normal budget and I’ll have nothing to pay off from the trip once we get home. Also, since I’ll be done 45 days in advance, it frees up cash for the kids school supplies and new school clothes in September. Then again, True will probably be as tall as I am at that point, so maybe we can share a Fall wardrobe! JK, but she is getting close! Coy and I are almost eye to eye, so I have been known to wear his t-shirts! He gets so POed! LOL but I just don’t have a lot of t-shirts! Speaking of which, I think I’ll wrap this post up and work on some t-shirt designs for this trip while I wait for the camera batteries to charge. Oh, one thing I forgot to mention is that the other reason there’s no turning back now is because the kids know about this trip! I didn’t want to keep the trip a secret this time because I want them to help me plan. I sort of let them think they were helping me plan by asking them if they would rather go to the Halloween party at WDW or the Christmas party. Mind you, I asked them separately and they BOTH said they wanted to go to both parties! When I told them they had to pick one party they both said MNSSHP. Well, actually, they didn’t say “MNSSHP” because they don’t speak in acronyms I was about 98% sure that was what they were going to say since we have never done Halloween in Disney. So the kids and I have been doing a little talking about how we want to spend our vacation in WDW. We need to discuss restaurants because I have the ones picked out where I would like us to eat, but they might have different ideas. I’ll be posting about that soon because ADR day is about two weeks away!

 

[Corrine 1973]

I am glad to know that I am not the only one out there who is so obsesive in my planning. I have basicaly every day planned on paper, though I am sure that I need some flexibility in that planning. But I am sure that if I go in there with out any plans that we will leave thinking we missed something important. I have also written and rewritten our packing lists several times and there is still 2 months before our trip.

We went to MNSSHP in 2009 and had a blast. Hallowishes was incredible and the kids just loved the Boo To You Parade. FYI- Take a good look at Captain Jack Sparrow. It is rumored that Johnny Depp occasionally comes in and does the part for the parade for fun. We only found out later from a CM when we told here we were there for a Wish Trip. Other wise the CM's are clossed mouthed about it. But you never know.

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I am glad to know that I am not the only one out there who is so obsesive in my planning. I have basicaly every day planned on paper, though I am sure that I need some flexibility in that planning. But I am sure that if I go in there with out any plans that we will leave thinking we missed something important. I have also written and rewritten our packing lists several times and there is still 2 months before our trip.

We went to MNSSHP in 2009 and had a blast. Hallowishes was incredible and the kids just loved the Boo To You Parade. FYI- Take a good look at Captain Jack Sparrow. It is rumored that Johnny Depp occasionally comes in and does the part for the parade for fun. We only found out later from a CM when we told here we were there for a Wish Trip. Other wise the CM's are clossed mouthed about it. But you never know.

Yes, for me, planning is almost as much fun as the trip itself! Oddly enough, all of the obsessive planning actually frees me up to be more flexible once I'm on vacation. I think it might be because I know I can fall back on my plans if we hit a bump in the road. And don't get me started on packing lists!

Thanks so much for the tip on the parade and the possibility of Johnny Depp actually playing Captain Jack Sparrow! I'm not usually the type to get star struck when I see or meet celebrities, but Mr. Depp would be an exception to that rule, I think! If I saw him performing one of my favorite characters IN PERSON?!? I think I might faint! Do you think he would rush down from his float and revive me? You are so lucky you got to see him!

 

[Corrine 1973]

Yes, for me, planning is almost as much fun as the trip itself! Oddly enough, all of the obsessive planning actually frees me up to be more flexible once I'm on vacation. I think it might be because I know I can fall back on my plans if we hit a bump in the road. And don't get me started on packing lists!

Thanks so much for the tip on the parade and the possibility of Johnny Depp actually playing Captain Jack Sparrow! I'm not usually the type to get star struck when I see or meet celebrities, but Mr. Depp would be an exception to that rule, I think! If I saw him performing one of my favorite characters IN PERSON?!? I think I might faint! Do you think he would rush down from his float and revive me? You are so lucky you got to see him!

No problem, us single mom's need to stick together. There is a pic in my PTR but it he is high up on the float and it is hard to see.

I know what you mean about the planning. Also when you know what the attractions you must see, you don't leave disappointed that you didn't do everything you wanted because you did the main things. As for packing list, I find myself making a new one everytime I am bored. I don't know maybe there should be a support group. Hi my name is Corrine and I am obsessed with making packing list for our Disney Trip.

 

[disneychard]

I made my adr for my upcoming trip for August. My 13 year old, told don' forgot to make one at Ohana's.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Ah Erin, I just LOVE reading your updates! You give me lots of info, that's just how I like it!

Congrats to your brother!

I totally agree and understand about the saving/paying off trip! The reason Hope canceled her trip was for the same reasons. She COULD do it, but it was stressing out her everyday life with the kids and they already had two other trips planned to places they haven't been. Makes perfect sense! I'm glad the kids get to help plan and join in the fun for this trip! I'm on the fence now about MNSSHP! I'll have to update my PTR soon, it's not that I don't LOVE the party, I do, but financially, it will be harder and I would have to pay for Savannah's friend's ticket as well b/c I don't think her parents can afford it. Ooops, going into my own ramble on your PTR!

Can't wait to hear about the ADRs you choose! I get to start making mine on Sunday!!!!!!!!!

 

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

Whew, that was quite the update! How exciting that the kids know now! You're going to have a blast.

Uuugh I want a nice camera so bad, I can't stand the point and shoot I have now. But being a poor college student, I choose between a Disney trip and a new camera. Guess what I chose?

Just FYI, the MNSSHP dates have been tentatively announced. Right now it looks like there's one on the 7th, 10th, and 11th. Tix aren't on sale now but NOW YOU CAN PLAN ON WHICH DAY!!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

As for packing list, I find myself making a new one everytime I am bored. I don't know maybe there should be a support group. Hi my name is Corrine and I am obsessed with making packing list for our Disney Trip.

We can start the support group right here! Hi, my name is Erin and I am obsessed with making packing lists!

I made my adr for my upcoming trip for August. My 13 year old, told don' forgot to make one at Ohana's.

I L-O-V-E breakfast at ‘Ohana but we haven’t done dinner yet and I really want to do that soon, if we can. Is your ADR for breakfast or dinner?

Ah Erin, I just LOVE reading your updates! You give me lots of info, that's just how I like it!

Yeah, I can get a bit long-winded

Congrats to your brother!

Thanks! I’m so excited for him and my future SIL. She is awesome!

I totally agree and understand about the saving/paying off trip! The reason Hope canceled her trip was for the same reasons. She COULD do it, but it was stressing out her everyday life with the kids and they already had two other trips planned to places they haven't been. Makes perfect sense! I'm glad the kids get to help plan and join in the fun for this trip! I'm on the fence now about MNSSHP! I'll have to update my PTR soon, it's not that I don't LOVE the party, I do, but financially, it will be harder and I would have to pay for Savannah's friend's ticket as well b/c I don't think her parents can afford it. Ooops, going into my own ramble on your PTR!

Hey, ramble away! That is what makes the chatter in a PTR fun!

Can't wait to hear about the ADRs you choose! I get to start making mine on Sunday!!!!!!!!!

Oh wow! Your ADR day is so close! Mine is next Sunday

Whew, that was quite the update! How exciting that the kids know now! You're going to have a blast.

Yeah, I can get a little wordy when I get excited about the trip

Uuugh I want a nice camera so bad, I can't stand the point and shoot I have now. But being a poor college student, I choose between a Disney trip and a new camera. Guess what I chose?

A Disney trip is higher on the priority list for me than a nice camera too – at least for now since I have no idea how to operate it! My friend gave me some pointers today, so hopefully I can take some better pictures than I did last night. I’m starting to miss my point and shoot!

Just FYI, the MNSSHP dates have been tentatively announced. Right now it looks like there's one on the 7th, 10th, and 11th. Tix aren't on sale now but NOW YOU CAN PLAN ON WHICH DAY!!

Oh, that’s great! Thanks for sharing that! The 7th will be perfect for us!

 

[disneychard]

We always go for dinner, we enjoy it. I heard at breakfast they have characters, I told my family one of these days we'll have to try it.

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

We always go for dinner, we enjoy it. I heard at breakfast they have characters, I told my family one of these days we'll have to try it.

Ooh! Dinner! The menu looks so good! I hope you get a view of Wishes!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I’m kind of rushing to make these ADR plans because both of my kids’ birthdays are within the next two weeks! I need to focus my time, energy and money on planning their birthdays. Luckily, I finished shopping for True’s presents already. Now I just have to finish shopping for Coy and get their decorations and cakes for their parties. These are just at home parties for family, nothing fancy. Their dad is supposed to be throwing their joint birthday party with their friends at a laser tag place, but he hasn’t invited anyone yet, so I have a bad feeling that it isn’t going to happen I really hope he comes through for them. Then both of my brothers, both of my sisters and I are going to take the kids to Hershey Park later in April! Maybe we’ll stock up on some Easter candy!



Do you think it’ll be enough???

Can you tell I have food on the brain??? Let’s talk ADRs! I think that we’ll end up flying out to Orlando late on Thursday, the 6th, so that we will be in Orlando on the morning of the 7th. Unless extending my vacation at POR on the AP discount is very cheap, we’ll probably just stay offsite on out arrival night. Based on the hours that MK is open (thanks again, Karen!) and tentative party dates (thanks again, Caroline!) it looks like MNSSHP will be held that night. That will be perfect because we’ll be able to go to the party at the beginning of the trip when we are still fresh. I think that makes all of the difference in the world. So we’ll probably have a breakfast ADR, check into our resort and then relax a little before the party. I asked the kids where they wanted to have breakfast and they both said Chef Mickey’s.



That’s them in 2008, trying to look cool They loved this restaurant and we had ADRs for breakfast in 2009 but we didn’t wake up on time to make it, so this is a must do restaurant for us this year – according to the kids.

On Saturday, the 8th, we’re going to do AK since touringplans.com says it will be the best park to visit that day. We’ll have to do breakfast at Tusker House!







The kids agreed that this was their favorite place for breakfast. I asked why and Coy said, “Because of the Monkey Juice!” The Monkey Juice is pretty darn good! You know, I’m starting to notice a trend here. The kids agree on a lot of stuff when it comes to Disney! If only we could live there – they might not ever fight again! Anyway, that meal is pretty filling, so I think we’ll be good until we hop over to another park that night. We’ll probably have a snack or something, but I want to save room for F&W because I think the park we will hop to will be EP. Even though EP is the park to avoid on Saturday, I don’t think I’ll be able to resist taking the kids to try out some new food that night. If we don’t go to EP, then we’ll go to MK, but I think that is unlikely since we will have been there the night before.

On Sunday, the 9th, we’ll go to HS. Now, HS is the park to avoid on that date, but I really don’t have any other day that we can fit it in. We’ll just have to deal with it After a mad dash to TSM to get FPs, I think we’ll have a light breakfast at Starring Rolls. Then I’m thinking we’ll do an early lunch at Sci Fi. We’ve only had counter service meals at HS, so I think it’ll be nice to try a table service meal here. After a few more rides at HS, I think we’ll hop over to MK because I really want the kids to see MSEP. Actually, I want to see it myself too. If you read my other PTR, you already know that my dear sweet mom thought quite a few things were “stupid” when we went to Disney. Let me give a disclaimer again that she was pregnant on quite a few of our trips down there, so I have to cut her some slack for not having patience I just think it’s funny when I look back on our trips when I was a kid and remember her calling something stupid So MSEP was one of them, which meant that my brothers, sisters and I never saw much of the parade. MSEP is on the list of must dos for me and the kids and so is Wishes, so the kids and I will probably grab a CS dinner after we hop over to MK.

Monday, the 10th, is our last park day so tradition dictates that we will start off our day in MK. I think we will end up hopping over to EP in the evening. This is one day I’m not sure about what ADRs to make. I’d appreciate any feedback! Here’s the dilemma: initially, I planned on having an early dinner at CRT, but what about breakfast? I would like to do a before-park-opening ADR at Crystal Palace because nothing beats the pictures standing in front of the castle with no one else around. When we did that in 2009, it felt as if the park was just ours for a few minutes.









I’m just not sure if I want to waste time doing two sit down meals on our last park day. Also, since I plan on hopping to EP, I’d want us to save room in case we did another lap around F&W Then I thought that maybe we could do CRT breakfast, but we did that already.



Even though the food was good, I would like to try a different meal there, preferably dinner because the lunch menu doesn’t appeal to me. Breakfast might make more sense though because we are going to hop to EP. We’ll only be in MK for half of the day so that we can do our favorite attractions one more time – I wouldn’t want to wait around for a dinner ADR if we could be doing something else. BUT…when in Disney, we tend to eat dinner as early as possible – usually between 4 and 5pm – so we might be wrapping things up by dinner time anyway. BUT…say I couldn’t get a dinner ADR until 5, then we’d probably finish up around 6 and wouldn’t get to EP until at least 7! I really don’t know what to do. Wait, I just thought of something else – we could hop to EP instead of MK on Sunday…no, I forgot about MSEP! Ugh! I think that I’m just going to end up making a breakfast ADR at CRT and do dinner another time. What do you guys think? This is critical!!! LOL! Just kidding, but I would like opinions OK, I’m going to stop before I drive myself looney!

 

[disneychard]

What do you think is the best character breakfast? I would love to make a adr for August, but I don't know which one. My son is 13 and so I really need a fun one, my husband says just pick one. But, like to have some input, love your pictures.

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

What do you think is the best character breakfast? I would love to make a adr for August, but I don't know which one. My son is 13 and so I really need a fun one, my husband says just pick one. But, like to have some input, love your pictures.

Our absolute favorite character breakfast is Donald's Safari Breakfast at Tusker House. It's one of the few places you can see Donald and Daisy as well as Mickey and Minnie. They're all in their safari gear and the restaurant's theme is great. They do a parade with the restaurant guests every 20 minutes or so, but if your son is anything like my son, he might be "too cool" to participate but the restaurant is just fun in general Also there is a wide variety of food. There's the usual breakfast buffet fare like the scrambled eggs, sausage, Bacon, Mickey Waffles etc, but there's also more exotic food if you're feeling adventurous. Tusker House is a must do every trip for us

Thanks for the compliments on the pictures! Crystal Palace is my second favorite character breakfast but not so much because of the food or characters. It's my second favorite because of the pictures I've been able to get before park opening

 

[Corrine 1973]

Hey Erin, Just loving the pics of your kids in the empty MK park.

You definalty helped settle mind on a question I was trying to figure out. We are only doing 3 TS during our May trip with no character meals (DS's choice) So I am already thinking in advance of my DD trip in 2013. I definatly want to do CP and with those great pics of your family I am definatly planning on a breakfast. A breakfast at Tusker House is also on the list. Is it sad that I am already thinking of ADR's for a trip that is over 2 years away?

 

[britt_ji]

I love all of the pictures you've posted of the kids. Very cute! Glad to hear you all like Tusker House...we will be going there for breakfast on our trip. Thankfully, I made that reservation when I did since it's all booked up now. Hope you guys have a good time for the kids' birthday parties and at Hershey Park!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Hey Erin, Just loving the pics of your kids in the empty MK park.

You definalty helped settle mind on a question I was trying to figure out. We are only doing 3 TS during our May trip with no character meals (DS's choice) So I am already thinking in advance of my DD trip in 2013. I definatly want to do CP and with those great pics of your family I am definatly planning on a breakfast. A breakfast at Tusker House is also on the list. Is it sad that I am already thinking of ADR's for a trip that is over 2 years away?

Thanks, Corrine! I adore those pictures too! And I definitely understand about already planning for your next trip. I actually read that on your PTR but hadn't gotten around to comment on it yet. I'm doing the same thing myself by trying to get my sibs on board for a Summer trip next year! I want to book it! I mean, Summer 2012 is only a year away! Let's get a move on!

I love all of the pictures you've posted of the kids. Very cute! Glad to hear you all like Tusker House...we will be going there for breakfast on our trip. Thankfully, I made that reservation when I did since it's all booked up now. Hope you guys have a good time for the kids' birthday parties and at Hershey Park!

Thanks, Brittany! I'm sure you all will LOVE Tusker House! Also, thanks for the well wishes. My kids are at their dad's most of this weekend, so I have a lot of prep to do for True's bday on Sunday and I still have to finish shopping for Coy's bday too! Whew! I'll be sure to post pics of their parties and I might even do a mini TR for our Hershey Park adventure

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Ok Erin, let's break this down a little!

Fri-MNSSHP
Sat-AK, EP
Sun-DHS, MK
Mon-MK, EP

A couple things...
Maybe you could switch those Sat/Sun plans? AK will be great on Sunday as well and DHS would be better on Saturday (there is EMH in the AM there, but I still think that's better than a Fantasmic day, unless you are going to see F! We did a EMH in the morning at DHS and it was so quiet and nice those first couple hours. GAH! Edited b/c I just realized you'll be doing the party on Friday night...is there any way you can add one more night and arrive/go to the party on Thursday night?!?!?!?

MK has MSEP on Saturday night as well, so you can go that night too...
then you would be able to hop over to EP on Sunday night, which will be less busy! Does any of this help?

I think Crystal Palace for breakfast at MK on your last morning would be great! Then you can hop off (or not) to wherever you want that evening. EP will be nice that night!

 

[Victoriasmom98]

Yep, leave it to Karen to suggest adding another day to the trip. I think that's a great idea!!! Seriously!! I'm no help with this plan at all as I don't park hop --- it all sounds really confusing to me! I like one park on one day and that's it. My tiny little brain couldn't handle anything more. I must thank you though as Tusker House breakfast is on our list this year and I'm happy to know you guys like it.

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Ok Erin, let's break this down a little!

Fri-MNSSHP
Sat-AK, EP
Sun-DHS, MK
Mon-MK, EP

A couple things...
Maybe you could switch those Sat/Sun plans? AK will be great on Sunday as well and DHS would be better on Saturday (there is EMH in the AM there, but I still think that's better than a Fantasmic day, unless you are going to see F! We did a EMH in the morning at DHS and it was so quiet and nice those first couple hours. GAH! Edited b/c I just realized you'll be doing the party on Friday night...is there any way you can add one more night and arrive/go to the party on Thursday night?!?!?!?

You have a good point, Karen. You really have my gears turning over here now! Switching the days makes a lot of sense. I also really like the idea of an extra day in WDW too Seriously, though, I'm not crazy about the idea of having to squeeze 4 parks and MNSSHP into 3&1/2 days. An extra day would be sweet!

MK has MSEP on Saturday night as well, so you can go that night too...
then you would be able to hop over to EP on Sunday night, which will be less busy! Does any of this help?

Yes! This is definitely helpful info! If I keep my dates the same, this would definitely make sense, especially since I don't plan on doing F! ...MSEP is the higher priority


I think Crystal Palace for breakfast at MK on your last morning would be great! Then you can hop off (or not) to wherever you want that evening. EP will be nice that night!

Yep, leave it to Karen to suggest adding another day to the trip. I think that's a great idea!!! Seriously!!

I know, right? Just add another day but I am actually really considering it now

I'm no help with this plan at all as I don't park hop --- it all sounds really confusing to me! I like one park on one day and that's it. My tiny little brain couldn't handle anything more. I must thank you though as Tusker House breakfast is on our list this year and I'm happy to know you guys like it.

Tusker House is wonderful! About hopping, I'm always afraid NOT to park hop, because I'm afraid we'll miss something. It scares the crap outta me to have to commit to one park for a day. I think not hopping is what takes the serious planning because you know you're going to make the best out of that park that day

Karen, Ann, you've given me a lot to think about! The only thing holding me back on adding a day is that the kids would miss another day of school. But I've gotta tell you, I've started reading that book Hope recommended and I think I could find ways to supplement the kids' education so that I don't have to be as concerned about them missing one extra day of school Also, I looked at airfare for that Wednesday night and it's slightly cheaper than Thursday! We could stay off site those first two days like at the Radisson again if there is a good discount, and the cost will be about the same! OK, I have some PTRs to catch up on, then I have some numbers to crunch!