Toddler Twins take another Trip Aug/Sept '15 PTR: 3 MORE SLEEPS

[kcpinwdw]

Day 7: Animal Kingdom
Another sleeping in morning for us (which mean hopefully sleep until 7:30, which is pretty good with toddlers!). It's Thursday! We are going to fill our coffee mugs and grab a little snack, and go out to catch the BUS (ugh!) to Animal Kingdom. We've been spoiled non bus riders this trip We will arrive around 8:30 I am hoping.

I love Animal Kingdom. Our last visit was a really bad one for me. It was the first day of our vacation. I had extended family with us, my husband's brother and his family, my mother in law, and my baby cousin who is in college in Florida came down to visit us for the day. It was a hot day and fairly busy at AK with some Brazilian tour groups. We started off great that morning with a safari ride (here is my safari selfie)
Then breakfast at Tusker House.

We saw the Lion King show. Then we went to the Nemo show... during the Nemo show I began feeling a little queasy. Luckily the kids were totally engaged and let me slip away outside. I got a bottle of water and sat on the stone wall and just tried to relax, thinking I got overheated or something. But it just got worse and worse, and by the time the show was over I knew something was wrong and I needed to get out of there ASAP. As we were walking to the exit I just couldn't walk anymore. A CM came to help us and got me a wheelchair, and my husband pushed me to the car... thankfully my cousin was there to push the double stroller! We drove home. I got sick pretty soon after, with severe vomiting. The worst part was that evening I had gotten incredible seats to Yo Gabba Gabba Live in downtown Orlando, and we were so exicted to take the kids, since it was their favorite show. I was not happy about wasting tickets that were over $200. But, we convinced my cousin to stay one more night, and she took the kids with my husband whilst I was completely incapacitated. It had to have been norovirus. And it was terrible. They brought me home ginger ale and pepto after the concert and by midnight the worst was over. I slept about two hours. Amazingly nobody else in our group caught it. I spent the whole trip waiting for them to get sick but no one did!

Anyway, back to the present: Rope drop we will head right for the Safari, because it is definitely best first thing in the morning. Then we will likely see a show or two. I will be healthy and happy. Lunch at Tusker House at 11:15. After that, it depends on the weather. If decent or rainy we may walk some of the trails. If too hot we will head back to the pool!

Planning on a very low key afternoon and evening. No dinner ADR, which is rare for us. If we change our minds we will add something that day on the boardwalk or at the Dolphin. I think this late in the vacation we will be tired. So early to bed. Very early.

Shirts for the day will be appliqued Tie-dye Mickey and Minnies. I dyed the fabric first then sewed the heads onto standard shirts. Here is Sylvie's:

Background is Navy, it's hard to tell. We will all be different colors.

Next up: Day 8: Return to the MK

 

[kcpinwdw]

Day 8: Magic Kingdom day 2

I may be getting a little sad by today, friday, because it is getting close to time to go home! Bright and early we will head down to the gates for a pre-park breakfast. Probably CRT, I do love me some princess breakfasts Maybe we will do BOG instead though.

I am very excited about our outfits for today so I will start there. We are wearing these:


My plan for the morning is to get as much done as possible in the first couple hours. No FP for the mornings, we will hold them to the afternoon. If our FP for 7DMT is a success from the other day, (as in no one freaks out and we are all tall enough) maybe we will try to walk on after our early breakfast. Lunch at BOG, because we have had breakfast and dinner there in the past but never lunch. Done by noon, I would think, and off back to the Poly.

Pool time! Nap time! Or whatever we want. Boy oh boy I am so glad we are on the monorail line! We will schedule our FP for the early evening. Probably Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, and meeting talking Mickey.

No dinner plans yet. I have a BOG reservation but we will probably cancel, we've eaten there twice and it's good but not "must do" for us, the ambiance is really the big draw. My kids are terrible at eating dinner anyway. THey can split a kids meal and barely put a dent in it. Maybe we will do The Plaza so we can get some ice cream too Or maybe we will get a babysitter and enjoy a late night grownups only?? That means I change into grown up clothes! If we do that I wouldnt mind checking out Trader Sam's too.

Next up: Day 9, last day at MK and traveling home!

 

[twinsouvenirs]

I love Animal Kingdom. Our last visit was a really bad one for me. It was the first day of our vacation. I had extended family with us, my husband's brother and his family, my mother in law, and my baby cousin who is in college in Florida came down to visit us for the day.

We had a similarly bad visit last time--we didn't even make it to the safari. Basically, it was like herding cats with my family and although my mom and I got to do Dinosaur (which I'd never done) the kids were so strung out we essentially played at the Boneyard, got snacks, and went back for naps. I regret SO MUCH about that trip I left the detailed itinerary at home, and trying to make everyone happy meant we basically walked in circles. Next time I'm going all 'tour guide' on the family and they will just like it or hate me, but I won't feel like they missed anything!

 

[kcpinwdw]

Day 9: Magic Kingdom and Good-byes

We were really lucky to get an evening flight home, which isnt until 730 or so. We will have a good park day first! (And hopefully sleeping kids on the plane!).

Good morning saturday! Initially I had 'Ohana booked for our last morning, but when BOG opened up for breakfast I moved it to our "intermission" day and decided to do BOG today instead. We have an 8am reservation. Our plan will be for today to be a low-key day where we can catch anything we missed and visit some favorites. I predict a couple of hours in the morning, then heading back to the resort to finish packing up our stuff. Hoping for a later check out if possible. I would rather spend the day in the park because I hate the idea of traveling with our wet swim stuff... though I suppose I could always through some things in the dryer before we leave too!

I told you all early my husband's apprehension about all our custom wear... but this morning he actually requested that I make a set of Inside Out shirts! So we will probably wear them this day. So I can't show them to you yet, obviously, but the plan is for DH to have a Bing Bong shirt, I will wear Disgust, the little dude has requested Sadness, and my daughter will be sporting Joy. I really hope by Aug/Sept there is a character opportunity to be had with one or two of the Inside Out Crew! (If so we may have to change our shirts to the park they appear at--- unless they are at DHS, because we are definitely wearing our Muppets shirts that day. Everything else is flexible).

I have a feeling that after such a long trip we will be ready to go home. We live pretty far from the airport so we may catch a hotel since it will be pretty late to drive and we will be wiped I am sure. My parents are having a big party the next day so we will likely unload our stuff at home and then head over there in the afternoon.

Here's what I have left to plan/do for the trip:
1) one more set of shirts (inside out)
2) book our FP (window opens soon!)
3) buy some portable rain gear
4) decide on our packing strategy... I like individual outfits in ziplocs but with all the customs it may be easier to pack each day as a family unit.
5) decide on room requests once online check in opens
6) subtly convince my DH to consider a bounceback trip while we are there... ha ha ha

 

[twinsouvenirs]

I'm getting so many ideas from your PTR Love the outfits in ziplocs idea. LOVE the inside out shirts idea. Can't wait to see the movie I can't remember if I mentioned but I use a Silhouette Cameo to cut heat transfer vinyl, or use iron on printer transfer material to make monogrammed Mickey onesies and name fill shirts I think I'll have to do tees for the girls this round since we're basically potty trained and onesies are not quite condusive to a quick potty break.

 

[kcpinwdw]

since we're basically potty trained and onesies are not quite condusive to a quick potty break

Yup we've done away with onesies for good. Ben is totally potty trained and it will be nice to do Disney without diapers... except my daughter is being difficult (she is easier in every other aspect of life), and she will probably still need pull ups. C'est la vie!

 

[kcpinwdw]

I am just about two days from booking my Fastpass + so I thought I would organize my "goal" FPs here. Tips I learned from my last trip during low season 1) you don't need FP in the morning, lines are short 2) it is really easy to change the time or event on MDE in the park for most--- even in the window if you haven't used it. I know it gets hate on the boards but I really thought FP+ worked well for our family... though we never really needed or got a 4th, I am looking forward to when that is a mobile option.

Anyway, here are my ideas for now: Overbook the hard to gets for flexibility. Try for afternoon/early evenings in terms of timing except for characters--- see them early before too sweaty. Try to do all 4 of us together.

Epcot day 1: Soarin', Nemo, Character Spot
DHS: Toy Story, Frozen sing along, Little Mermaid
Epcot day 2: Soarin' (back up), spaceship earth, Nemo
MK day 1: A&E (4p-5p), 7DMT (6:30-7:30), Peter Pan (11am)
AK: Safari, Lion King, Disney Pals
MK day 2: 7DMT (back-up... change to Ariel if needed), Winnie the Pooh, Cindy and Rapunzel (10am)
MK day 3: A&E (back-up, change to talking Mickey if needed), Peter Pan (back up, change to Haunted Mansion if needed), ETwBelle

Once my window opens the order I will book them will be: MK day1, MK day3, MK day2, DHS, Epcot day1, AK, Epcot day 2.

Advice appreciated if you think I should consider alternatives!

 

[kcpinwdw]

Fast Pass success!

I stayed up late last night and booked my FP right at midnight in basically the order I listed above, with no trouble whatsoever! I even ended up doing it from the app on my phone! I had a big ol' spreadsheet in front of me but I didnt really need it after reviewing it earlier in the evening to prepare.

60 days to go!


I made a couple voluntary changes to the above schedule. The day I am most excited about is our first MK day, where we will probably only go in the afternoon. It's a princess afternoon! 2:30 we have BBB reservations. I am thinking it will take 1-2 hours depending if they are running late. I have A&E for 4-5 and then CIndy and Rapunzel 5-6. The plan is to catch the tail of one FP and the beginning of another to see them back to back! Then I am taking my daughter for a special dinner at CRT just the two of us. Daddy and son are going to have some alone time, probably riding rides in tomorrowland and shopping for a special souvenir... I think we may get the toy monorail set for him.

I have a back up A&E for saturday morning before we leave in case of meltdown. If we get there no problem on Sept 2nd I will change it to meeting Mickey at Town Square Theater. My son slept through that one last visit! I also have two 7DMT. Maybe the kids will love it and we will ride twice (or more considering our multiple pre-park ADRs) but if not I will change that to something else too.

One more thing i am considering adding to my "to-do" list... tinkerbell gifts.

 

[cajunfan]

Ohhh....you know I like Tinkerbell gifts...it spreads the magic! One thing we did that Zoe really enjoyed, was we had a set of jelly beans in specific colors, and every night she "planted" a jellybean (in a very small clay pot with green tissue paper for grass). Then every morning when she woke up, there was a flower lollipop in the color jelly bean that she planted. And she looked for them first thing every morning! And let's just say that there was more than one morning that Aunt Lynn was scrambling first thing in the morning because she fell asleep before the flower grew! LOL!

Great job on the FP+! I am done with princess M&Gs! Well okay, maybe if my son ever has kids, I will take them.

 

[kcpinwdw]

she "planted" a jellybean

This is just the cutest idea EVER. Where did you get the flower lollipops???

 

[cajunfan]

Well, at WalMart, but she got them at Easter time, so I am not sure it was just a seasonal thing or not...worth goggling to see if you can get them elsewhere, because she had a lot of fun with it. She always looked for it first, and then asked if Tinkerbell left anything?

 

[kcpinwdw]

just a seasonal thing

Oh I hope not! To google I go...

 

[twinsouvenirs]

Ohhh....you know I like Tinkerbell gifts...it spreads the magic! One thing we did that Zoe really enjoyed, was we had a set of jelly beans in specific colors, and every night she "planted" a jellybean (in a very small clay pot with green tissue paper for grass). Then every morning when she woke up, there was a flower lollipop in the color jelly bean that she planted. And she looked for them first thing every morning! And let's just say that there was more than one morning that Aunt Lynn was scrambling first thing in the morning because she fell asleep before the flower grew! LOL!

Great job on the FP+! I am done with princess M&Gs! Well okay, maybe if my son ever has kids, I will take them.

I LOVE this idea but I don't think my kids will plant the jelly beans--they'll just pop them in their mouth! But honestly it's probably a good idea to teach them some will power I am going to try this

What is a tinkerbell gift? I was thinking about making some small little gifts for my girls to give to other kids but I'm not sure if that is weird. We had a little girl give my girls stuffed animals one year at AK and it was SO SWEET.

 

[kcpinwdw]

What is a tinkerbell gift?

A tinkerbell gift is a little present in the morning from Tinkerbell! Think Santa... if you are "Good" tinkerbell leaves you a little pixie dust in the morning. Some people match them to what the plan is for the day. I got mine a few of those "tsum" stuffies so far. They are tiny to pack and super cute. I also have some dolls from when the Disney store had them on sale for $6 each. I bought 6 or 7. I may give them a couple for their birthday, or use them for "prizes" at their party.

I really like the idea of giving to others though. Last trip, I packed a ton of glow sticks. While we were waiting in line to check into the dessert party I broke them out and had my kids share them with all the kids in line with us. It was really fun and everyone was so happy.

 

[kcpinwdw]

flower lollipop

Lovely internet! I found a bunch of cute ones at Oriental trading and ordered them. Thanks for the great idea!

 

[cajunfan]

Lovely internet! I found a bunch of cute ones at Oriental trading and ordered them. Thanks for the great idea!

AWESOME!!!

 

[kcpinwdw]

I tried to do my online check in for both resorts but I find myself overwhelmed. Plus there is a glitch, it seems! For Beach Club, I really only want to request a larger balcony. I have no other priorities so that is most important. But when I went to do the check in, "king size bed" was preselected and I could not unselect it. I emailed our travel agent and she said she would take care of it. A couple days later I signed on, and where it has amenities requested, it just says larger balcony. I clicked on options, and suddenly the king size bed thing was back! Weird. I didnt save it but I plan on calling Disney again if its still there next week.

I find the choices at the Polynesian just overwhelming! So many options! I've been thinking about what may be a good fit for our family in the standard view category... well with the stroller we will definitely need a longhouse with an elevator or the ground floor. But, I think my son would ReALLY love a monorail view room. So I think I Will call the resort and have that put in as my only request.

A distraction to help me pass the next 53 or so days... decided to have my kids' birthday party be a "princess & pirates" theme. Of course, I will go "overboard."

 

[skier_pete]

Of course, I will go "overboard."

I have been thinking about doing on-line check-in. However, I'd like to put in for specific DVC rooms at beach club and I suspect on-line check-in wouldn't allow it, so I think I will need to find the time to call member services for that request. (Not sure if they will allow it either, but I found the rooms #s that give you a view of illuminations, and those are my first choice.) If not available, "near the elevator" is high on my choice list. I hate having to walk 1/2 a mile to my room. I usually don't sweat the room view because we spend so little time in the room, but in this case I thought it would be worth the request.

The Poly I have no clue what I want to request. We also have a standard view. There's three buildings available for DVC. I wonder if I want to request the one nearest the TTC. That gives us the option of using either monorail (resort or express).

 

[twinsouvenirs]

Online, I requested upper floor and larger balcony--but I called in and requested refurbished! I keep hearing these nightmare stories of drawers falling off, etc.

 

[skier_pete]

So I just called DVC directly and got my requests in. Requested x22 through x31 where x is the floor # 2 through 4. All these rooms are close to the front of the resort, and most face Epcot. (x28 doesn't, but that seemed too complicated). If we get one of these rooms we will be (a) near the front of the DVC resort, (b) near the elevator and (c) good chance of being able to see illuminations. I don't think you have a DVC reservation, so this doesn't really help you.

The member service guide was very helpful with the Poly too, he set me up for a room request on rooms that while technically a standard room would actually give me a view of the lake/fireworks from the balcony. I won't hold my breath but THAT would be awesome!