Tim and Lesley Year of Million Compromises/TONS pics- 8/5 help me pg. 164!!!

[timandlesley]

A new update will be here shortly....stay tuned!!!

 

[Blaynexox]

Yay! I cant wait!

 

[Mrs. T-i-double-g-er]

You know Tim, I once did a rendition of Jack and Dianne about two math professors (named Jack and Mary-Ann) in college who were married. I'd write the lyrics, but unless you're a math person, I don't think you'd find them so amusing. I wonder if there's a math thread...

 

[aldisneygrl]

A new update will be here shortly....stay tuned!!!

Can't wait!

 

[timandlesley]

Hi everyone...this is Tim. Since we are still ALOTTA days away from being able to take part in the Year of A Million Wishes, I decided to spice things up here at home..... So everyone, put your hands together as I present Tim's "Week of 7 Wishes"!!! Woo Hoo!!!! Starting Monday 2/5 I will start granting wishes at my house to my Wife Lesley and my kids Luke and Lauren. I will grant 1 wish a day to any of the 3 of them and then I will report back to you the wish granted. Do I have your attention???? Good, this is where you come in....if you want. Starting Monday, you can submit a wish that you would like to see be given to any of the 3 family members. If your wish is selected, you will join the "Online Dream Team" blue shorts and all. I am really excited to do this and I think it will be tons of fun. I hope to hear from you all very soon!

Tim

 

[DISNEYDUET]

Ok guys, I now have "Jack and Diane" stuck in my head. Former Showchoir girlie here so you know I had to sing your song outloud! My friend in the office next to me had to come over because she said it sounded like I was in agony! Just kidding. Your song has now made the rounds here in my office and has recieved...the envelope please... Way to go! Ok, you all are the most beautiful family! Keep it comin' gang! Can't wait to hear more. This is making me think about my pretrip report. Gotta get crackin' on that!
Oh, and my idea for a wish is a full day for the winner. The winner gets the day to chose everything that they want to do and everyone else has to do that. No grumbles aloud! They pick which park, what to see and where to eat. We did this on our last trip for my BFF's son and he loved it! Being 4 he felt like he didn't get to do anything he wanted to do. So when his day came he went all out! We had so much fun. I have to find those pictures...

 

[timandlesley]

Thanks so much, I'm glad that you liked the song. Great suggestion for the wish, I will let you know if I use it. Stay tuned for my next singing installment to the tune of "Macarena".....totally kidding!!! I will be back though....bye for now!!

Tim

 

[DisneyJo]

Hi everyone...this is Tim. Since we are still ALOTTA days away from being able to take part in the Year of A Million Wishes, I decided to spice things up here at home..... So everyone, put your hands together as I present Tim's "Week of 7 Wishes"!!! Woo Hoo!!!! Starting Monday 2/5 I will start granting wishes at my house to my Wife Lesley and my kids Luke and Lauren. I will grant 1 wish a day to any of the 3 of them and then I will report back to you the wish granted. Do I have your attention???? Good, this is where you come in....if you want. Starting Monday, you can submit a wish that you would like to see be given to any of the 3 family members. If your wish is selected, you will join the "Online Dream Team" blue shorts and all. I am really excited to do this and I think it will be tons of fun. I hope to hear from you all very soon!

Tim

Ahhhh, what a lovely guy you are, Lesley is a lucky girl.

I think your DD should get to choose what everyone wears for a day!!! Hope you let her!!!!

 

[timandlesley]

Hello everyone, just to let you know I will be posting our days in the parks and dining selections this weekend, it's been a BUSY week at work. Thanks for staying tuned
Lesley

 

[aldisneygrl]

Tim,

I was wishing that Lesley would get her tag back, and she DID! I guess we both got our wishes granted! Be very careful with that tag Lesley! Hope you enjoy it!

 

[timandlesley]

Oh yes, my wish has been GRANTED!!!! I am SOOOO excited, .
I WILL be very careful!
Lesley

 

[jbmom]

Loving your pretrip report. My DH and yours would get along really well. He is a goof too. Unfortunately, when we go in Aug. he will not be joining us. He decided he wanted to take a hunting trip to South Dakota. Oh well, at least I still get to go and take my 2 DS's by myself.

 

[timandlesley]

O.K.,
Sooooo sorry it took me so long to post another trip update it’s been super super busy at work (I am a special education teacher at an elementary teacher and I also teach classes for University of Phoenix online and things have just been really busy lately). Also, Luke’s 6th b-day is this coming week so we’ve been planning his party, etc. etc.
ANYWAY, I’m ready with more details for you.

I am SOOOOO excited to return to Disney in July, I know it is months and months away but being the Disney addict I am I am just SO anxious to return and it occupies my every thought. I have been adjusting dining plans since I last posted.
Tim and I started thinking about utilizing the dining plan and we decided to forgo the Princess breakfast and just do one character meal this year. We are going to return (after a year break) Donald’s Breakfastasaurus. The kids both love those characters, just wish Minnie was there for Lauren. Tim decided against LeCellier after looking at the menu (I know, I know ) so we made ressie’s for Teppenyaki instead (we loved it two years ago) and I’m thinking of booking a backup at Spoodles just in case Teppenyaki goes beyond the refurb date, your thoughts??

So back to planning . As I said before I am VERY detailed in my planning. We are doing the dining plan so I have figured out when we are paying out of pocket, when we are using credits and they are indicated below. We have a family motto that when we are on vacation we eat what we want, and have FUN FUN FUN, so yes, even though we are on the dining plan you will see more money budgeted for snacks, etc.
Here are some chocolate covered strawberries Tim got for my b-day last year I hate this picture of myself,my arms look huge but the strawberries are : (YUM)

WE have traditions of eating a big breakfast every morning which can add up at Roaring Forks (Wilderness Lodge’s fast service) and every night when we come back from the parks we fill our mugs up with hot chocolate and buy snacks for the night so that is a splurge, on top of the bottled waters, slushies, ice cream bars, etc (like I can’t go to the MK and NOT get a tub of carmel corn (YUM) so you will see that in the budget. Last year I budgeted 50 dollars per day in souvenir money, I’m trying to limit that by assigning amounts per person this year and am thinking of buying gift cards in those amounts for each of us so we don’t overspend and actually DO spend that money on what it is intended for- your thoughts?? Here is Luke making a potato head souvenir last year:

Here is what I have so far for itinerary and budget (of course I’ll come up with a detailed park plan for each park, this is JUST an outline : ):

July 12th- ARRIVAL DAY

Hit MGM on this day. Parade is at 3:00
Use Counter service credits at MGM for lunch (4 counter service credits)
Go back to hotel and eat at Whispering Canyon
also back up ressie at Mama Melrose if we decide to stay at the
Relax in the room or by the pool, or if feeling up to it hit MK for WISHES, could catch the water pageant at 9:35 on the dock

Budget: $25 for snacks for this day= $25 total

July 13th- Magic Kingdom Morning
Use Counter Service credits at Magic Kingdom for lunch (4 c.s. credits)
Epcot p.m. Coral Reef for dinner (4 table service credits)
Illuminations after dinner.

Budget: $25.00 breakfast $25.00 snacks= 50.00 food

July 14th Epcot morning
4 counterservice credits at Epcot for lunch
Magic Kingdom Evening- O’Hana’s for dinner
(4 sit down credits)
After dinner back to Magic Kingdom for SpectroMagic and Wishes

Budget: $25.00 breakfast $25.00 snacks = $50.00 food

July 15th- MGM morning
4 counterservice credits at MGM for lunch
DownTown Disney p.m. Wolfgang Puck’s for dinner
)
Enjoy night at pool after shopping

Budget: $25.00 breakfast $25.00 snacks = 50.00 for food

July 16th- Animal Kingdom morning
Donald’s breakfastasaurus 8:00 am (4 sit down credits)
Lunch at the park out of pocket (can use snacks at pizzafari for breadsticks)
MGM p.m. 4 counter service credits for dinner at MGM
Catch Fantasmic 9:00 show, get seats by 8:00 p.m.

Budget: $35.00 lunch $25.00 snacks = 60.00 food

July 17th- OUR 9 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
Here is a pic of us this year on our anniversary (one of our self portraits):

MGM a.m.
4 counter service credits for lunch at MGM
Concourse Steakhouse for dinner
Night off for swimming and relaxing ?? or catch fireworks at MK??

Budget: $25.00 breakfast $25.00 snacks = 50.00 food

July 18th- Magic Kingdom Morning
4 counter service credits for lunch
Epcot Evening Teppenyaki for dinner
Back up Spoodles?? (any other suggestions??) in case Teppenyaki doesn’t open
Watch Illuminations after dinner

Budget: $25.00 breakfast $25.00 snacks = $50.00 food

July 19th- Epcot Morning
lunch 4 counter service credits
MGM p.m.
Dinner at 50’s Primetime café 4 sit down credits
Catch Fantasmic again or for first time if rained out before

Budget: $25.00 for breakfast $25 .00 snacks = 50.00 for food

Budget

July 20th – LAST DAY : (
Breakfast at Whispering Canyon Café
(we pay out of pocket)
Any park of choice (anywhere other than MGM this morning)
Out of pocket for lunch as well.

Budget: 35.00 for breakfast $30.00 snacks $30.00 dinner= 95.00 food



Budget total for trip= $950 dollars

$480.00 for food in totals above

Stroller Rental= 150.00

Souvenier $- $50.00 Luke, $50.00 Lauren $75.00 Lesley $75.00 Tim=$250.00

$730.00 Total
Allows for $70.00 in extra money for tipping/extras


Soooooo, what are your thoughts guys? Budget, parks, restaraunts? I love the input.

Last year we saved a ton because since we drove I loaded the car up with bottled water and snacks. This year we won’t have that. I do plan on packing an extra suitcase with juice boxes, fruit chewies, granola bars, and other snacks. I will also try to put a few bottes of water in each suitcase – any suggestions here to save would be appreciated also.

We are still waiting on our tax refund to buy airfare. That money will be here this week and Ill let you know what we decide. I am leaning towards airtran out of Dayton right now, they have GREAT times (arriving early, leaving late and both non stop flights) but the cheapest I can find is 257 round trip – OUCH! Southwest NEEDS to release airfare beyond May 10th- FRUSTRATING.

Well, I’ll leave you with those plans for now. Other things I’m thinking about are personalized t-shirts for our trip so we match on certain days, any ideas, good deals/places to find these for all of us??
Saw CARS pins today, hoping Luke can trade for those, the kids LOVE pin trading.
Well, I could go on and on, look forward to the feedback. Next few days I’ll let you know what we decided on airfare and I’ll start working on park itineraries.
Until then how about a pic of the Wilderness Lodge (my home) as I imagine being there again very soon:

SWEET DREAMS!!!!

Lesley

 

[aldisneygrl]

Have you considered Grocers.com? You can have the groceries delivered to your room. There are several people on these boards who swear by it.

You are such an organized lady. I just figured out which parks we were going to on each day, and I thought I was being organized. You put me to shame.

I'm glad I could be a part of your week of wishes. The tag looks great on you!

 

[dopeyfanatic]

I wouldn't know since I was only 12 when I went...lol, but it looks good. I like your snack budget. I'm looking at your things trying to get an idea for mine...lol. We'll be in a timeshare so we'll do breakfast there for pretty cheap, and we'll do grocery shopping once there for snacks to bring in. I know bringing your own drinks in saves LOADS of money! They are ok with bringing food and drinks in, right?

 

[jbmom]

For water I would go to Staples.com and sign up for the Staples rewards(it's free). They will then ship your water for free. The water may be a little more expensive but it's worth it not to have to pack it. They will ship it right to the WL for you. I'm ordering 2 cases for our Aug. trip that way.

 

[timandlesley]

Have you considered Grocers.com? You can have the groceries delivered to your room. There are several people on these boards who swear by it.

You are such an organized lady. I just figured out which parks we were going to on each day, and I thought I was being organized. You put me to shame.

I'm glad I could be a part of your week of wishes. The tag looks great on you!

Thanks, I'll check into Grocers.com, I wonder what the cost would be and if it would be worth it for us, thanks for the suggestion. Yes, you made my week of wishes before it officially began. THANK YOU!!!
Lesley

 

[timandlesley]

For water I would go to Staples.com and sign up for the Staples rewards(it's free). They will then ship your water for free. The water may be a little more expensive but it's worth it not to have to pack it. They will ship it right to the WL for you. I'm ordering 2 cases for our Aug. trip that way.

How cool, so you sign up at staples.com and it's free shipping! How much was it for your two cases? How much time do you need to allow before your trip to order it? THANKS- GREAT TIP!!!!
Lesley

 

[jbmom]

How cool, so you sign up at staples.com and it's free shipping! How much was it for your two cases? How much time do you need to allow before your trip to order it? THANKS- GREAT TIP!!!!
Lesley

It's 6.99 for a case of 24. I'd order about 7 days before you arrive.

 

[mom2my3kids]

We are flying this year instead of driving also. We spent so much on drinks last year even though I loaded up the van with tons of drinks and water. Plus they only serve coke at disney, I can drink it but missed my pepsi.