Too much magic?! My first shot at Pre-Tripping! **Updated 2/13/09**FINALLY!!!**

[sfacowgirl87]

hello, hello!

ive joined your PTR, love it so far! ur pics are really great. you and your hubby make a very cute couple. the POR looks really nice! i never ventured over there... being from louisiana those resorts hit home too much for me. if im in florida i wanna feel like im in florida ya know?

we are heading to disney the last week of april.

planning trips for disney made me realize i am a compulsive planner... since you are planning a year in advance i dare say we relate on that one.

ive always wanted to go to disney during the xmas holidays. im really hoping to take my parents for their 30th anniversary (december 20th in 3 years)... a selfish yet loving gift yeah?

anyway... i look forward to hearing more! hope your having a mgical day!

Hey there! Welcome!!!! Glad to know your enjoying it so far! POR is beautiful but I do understand how it could be like being at home for you! And I am so jealous! Your trip is going to be here quicker than mine! We are very much looking forward to seeing Disney w/ all the decorations up. That would be a wonderful anniversary present for your parents. And congrats to them for being together so long!!!!

I so wish I could do a princess meal, but as the lone female in a house of "men" I just don't think it's gonna happen.....*sigh*.

Oh I had ZERO convincing to do when I mentioned the Princess dining to DH again. I think he liked how they all called him Prince Charming.

I like your food choices. Can't say we've eaten at a single one except the Akershus and Flame Tree, so all are very enticing to me

Honestly, the princesses were VERY rushed when we did lunch there in April, it was like a drive-by greeting. Disapointed, for sure. I hope you have better luck. The food was great, though. We're weird though. We liked the fishy kinds of salads on the salad bar, and LOVED the rice cream dessert.

Flame Tree was fab.! Everything was really good. Portions are huge, and we ended up giving an untouched order of onion rings away to the sweetest family of Brits. sitting next to us.

Looking forward to more!

Well I'm sorry to hear that your Princess dining was less than magical! I can definitely see how it could be like that though. Compared to the other character dinings we did, there really was less interaction with the girls. Really just taking pictures...then they were off. And I watched as they approached the tables with kids and there wasn't really a difference. It did seem kind of rushed. Aside from that, you have me excited for Flame Tree! YAY!!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Oh I had ZERO convincing to do when I mentioned the Princess dining to DH again. I think he liked how they all called him Prince Charming.

Never tried that angle! I may have to give it a shot! Plus I hear the food is great there so that will be a big plus for the DH. I may have a chance at a princess meal yet!

 

[ScotsMinnie]

Loving your report so far! Your attic story had me in stitches! How funny you must have looked just your legs showing from below. Bet it was sore though!

If you get the chance I would recommend the California Grill at the Contemporary. We booked for about 8 and the food was amazing. Then near to the time of Wsihes we all went outside to the rooftop terrace and watched Wishes. The music is all piped in and it looks beautiful from up there.

The view from the restaurant is also fantastic. Especially if you ask for a MK view.

 

[sfacowgirl87]

Loving your report so far! Your attic story had me in stitches! How funny you must have looked just your legs showing from below. Bet it was sore though!

If you get the chance I would recommend the California Grill at the Contemporary. We booked for about 8 and the food was amazing. Then near to the time of Wsihes we all went outside to the rooftop terrace and watched Wishes. The music is all piped in and it looks beautiful from up there.

The view from the restaurant is also fantastic. Especially if you ask for a MK view.

HI! Glad to have you!

I keep hearing people rave about CG! I would really love to do that! This trip we are going to be attending Mickey's Christmas Party one evening and since it is only put on once a week, we are pretty much going to have to plan our evenings around that. AND...I don't know if anyone else has heard this yet, but I was poking around on another part of the board yesterday and apparently they are knocking Fantasmic down to twice a week now. This a must see for DH and I so we will have to find out when it's going to be going on as well. Once we get our schedule more figured out I'm going to look into maybe going to California Grill one night. Maybe I could not tell DH about the fireworks and it would be a surprise Thanks for the tip!!!

 

[sfacowgirl87]

GOODNESS! It seems like forever since I've posted an installment! Bare with me...I'm tryin to get back into the swing of school and things have been a little crazy...

ANYWHO...

So I have slowly but surly started getting things together for Disney. 10 months in advance, I know...but I'm just too excited! There were some things that we wished we would have had with us last time and I am going to MAKE SURE we DO have them this time.

So for our last trip, in the parks, we carried our Disney Honeymoon bag that we got FREE from Disney for registering with them. It is the prettiest bag, I love it , it just is not practical for carrying around the parks. DH calls it "one sided". He said he doesn't want a "one sided" bag for our trip this time...meaning he wants something that you can put on both arms, such as a backpack. Here is a picture of me with the bag (only one I could find where you could see the bag...)

So anyway, I figured since I love this bag so much we can still use it for our carry on stuff on the plane. We don't usually take much with us on the plane so it will be just perfect. Well last night (after American Idol of course...YAY for Season 8!!!!! ) I dug it out of my "bag box" in the top of my closet (I collect purses and bags...DH would say I'm a typical woman ) and was going to put it in my newly designed "Disney Box"...when I got it out I just glanced down into it and to my surprise I found little Mickey Head sprinkles in it...as I have said before, we were on the Deluxe Dining Plan on our last trip. Well, we didn't manage our snacks very well throughout the week and had like 8 left the day we were leaving. So I ran down to the CS at the resort and picked up a bunch of cookies and shoved them in my bag for the trip home. Apparently the sprinkles never got cleaned out...as I sat there reminiscing about my Disney cookies...yum...I began to realize something...

*****

So no one in my family, other than me, will eat Chinese food. I don't know why. They are totally missing out but oh well. More for me!!! One of my best girlfriends and I both love Chinese food so fairly often when DH is at the fire station her and I have Chinese nights at our local buffet. Well we were there one night last month and just as we were sitting down to eat the family at the table next to us was finishing up. Just out of chance my friend and I both glanced over to the next table and caught the mother of this family vigorously shoving cookies from the dessert buffet into her purse. And I'm not just talking 1 or 2. We sat there and watched for awhile as this woman put 23...TWENTY THREE...cookies in her purse. One at a time. I thought my friend and I were going to have to get up and go to the restroom we were trying so hard not to laugh. Once the family left we finally had let it out and it was a good 5 minutes before we got straightened out again. Ever since this incidence we always make references to the "cookie lady"...it's turned into a somewhat inside joke.

*****

So, as I sat there picking the orange and blue Mickey Head sprinkles out of my bag it dawned on me...I AM THE COOKIE LADY (ok so I didn't have 23 cookies...only about 6 but STILL). After my realization I immediately got my friend on the phone...

"Hey guess what I just found."
"What?"
"I found Mickey sprinkles in the bag we took to Disney World in June."
"Ok....???"
"They are sprinkles from cookies."
" "

So I'm guilty of pulling a "cookie lady" I guess. I feel bad for laughing at that lady now. But when I told DH about it he didn't see anything wrong with it. He assured me that stashing Disney World cookies is different than stashing Chinese buffet cookies. So I feel a little better now

So back to this Disney Box. I have started collecting all kinds of things to put in the box. Of course, the bag went in there. We are now looking for a Disney themed backpack of some kind. We have decided that if we can't find one soon we are just going to get a Jansport and get Disney patches to put on it. You might be surprised but I'm quite the little Suzy-Homemaker and am pretty good with a sewing machine. We picked up 2 little tray/cup things with suction cups on the back to stick to the mirror at the resort. I don't know how any of the other resorts are, but POR has NO counters in the bathroom area. Only pedistool sinks, so we got these to put our toothbrushes and such in. We took 2 little hand-held fans with us on our last trip. Despite the fact that it was blaring hot, we didn't really use them all that much. They are in the box as of now, but we are still debating whether they will make the final packing cut or not. Seeing how we didn't use them last time and it was summer, we probably won't use them in December.

Aside from the things in the box there are a few other things I want to share. As yall know, I got all kinds of Disney "stuff" for Christmas and I finally took pictures of it all for you to see!

Chip N Dale pajamas

Mickey sleep set (top and shorts) with fleece PJ pants to match

Mickey long sleeved thermal shirt.

Just for kicks...these are the "matching" shirts DH and I got on our last trip. They are practically new...we wore them on the flight home and I don't think they've been touched since then...


ALSO, I now have my new 2009 Passporter!!! I don't know if any of you have ever used one of these before but OMG. It is the Disney planners dream. I really don't know what else to say about it. It is just going to be attached to my hip for the next 10 months!!!!Just in case your curious...

I guess that's all I have for this installment. Coming up next...tentative park plans! Our DOs and DONTs!

 

[msce2]

This is great! I only wish you were going before we were so that I can read your reviews of everything!!! Thank you!

 

[mommytothreeboys]

I dug it out of my "bag box" in the top of my closet (I collect purses and bags...DH would say I'm a typical woman ) and was going to put it in my newly designed "Disney Box"...

LOL!! I have a bag collection too! New season, new bag. New trip, new bag. It's always a good time for a new bag! And the Disney box! It's fun to collect stuff for the trip! Mine's getting filled up as well!

We picked up 2 little tray/cup things with suction cups on the back to stick to the mirror at the resort. I don't know how any of the other resorts are, but POR has NO counters in the bathroom area. Only pedistool sinks, so we got these to put our toothbrushes and such in.

I used a suction cup soap holder for our toothbrushes for exactly the same reason. It worked like a charm!

Glad to see you back! Looking forward to more planning!

 

[sfacowgirl87]

This is great! I only wish you were going before we were so that I can read your reviews of everything!!! Thank you!

Glad your enjoying it! And I wish we were going sooner too!!!

LOL!! I have a bag collection too! New season, new bag. New trip, new bag. It's always a good time for a new bag! And the Disney box! It's fun to collect stuff for the trip! Mine's getting filled up as well!

I'm still in the process of finishing up decorating the Disney box. I haven't decided exactly how I'm gonna doll it all up but I'm workin' on it...

 

[tinkgurl]

Okay I'm hooked! And I do have to add that we were there June 16-24!

 

[FNTSTIC4]

I am Soooo excited!! We will be in WDW same dates!

You are a hoot I am really enjoying your PTR- It is so cold here I don't even want to step foot out the door! I have to wear layers upon layers just to bring the kids to the bus stop.

I am the consummate planner (unlike my DH). We will be staying at AKL savannah view. I already bought the Unofficial Guide and read thru it in 2 days I was debating whether or not to get the PassPorters

Hubby & I went on a "late" honeymoon in '98 and then brought the kids for a post-deployment vaca in Feb. '07, so it's been awhile.

We will be celebrating my b'day on the 15th (I think in MK) . I can tell you that last trip we did ALOT of character dining. One of my hubby's favorites was b'fast at Crystal Palace and he requested it again this time around!

I am hoping we will be even more prepared for this trip than the last. I have been researching footwear, clothing, and bags. I want to pack as lightly and as smartly as possible. Thanks for the tip re: toothbrush holder I think I have decided on Keens or Tevas for all, capilene/polypro shirts (short and long-sleeve) and windbreakers, plus 3 pairs of convertible pants each. This will ensure ease of coordinating outfits and laundry.

I am really looking forward to following along with you during your planning phase!

 

[daze]

Im in too, look like a fun year-long TR!! I'm gonna need more coffee though

 

[sfacowgirl87]

Okay I'm hooked! And I do have to add that we were there June 16-24!

YAY!!!! HI!!! We loved it in June! We really want to see it around the Holidays but after this trip we will probably go back to tryin to go in June.

I am Soooo excited!! We will be in WDW same dates!

You are a hoot I am really enjoying your PTR- It is so cold here I don't even want to step foot out the door! I have to wear layers upon layers just to bring the kids to the bus stop.

I am the consummate planner (unlike my DH). We will be staying at AKL savannah view. I already bought the Unofficial Guide and read thru it in 2 days I was debating whether or not to get the PassPorters

Hubby & I went on a "late" honeymoon in '98 and then brought the kids for a post-deployment vaca in Feb. '07, so it's been awhile.

We will be celebrating my b'day on the 15th (I think in MK) . I can tell you that last trip we did ALOT of character dining. One of my hubby's favorites was b'fast at Crystal Palace and he requested it again this time around!

I am hoping we will be even more prepared for this trip than the last. I have been researching footwear, clothing, and bags. I want to pack as lightly and as smartly as possible. Thanks for the tip re: toothbrush holder I think I have decided on Keens or Tevas for all, capilene/polypro shirts (short and long-sleeve) and windbreakers, plus 3 pairs of convertible pants each. This will ensure ease of coordinating outfits and laundry.

I am really looking forward to following along with you during your planning phase!

Welcome! Yay for being there at the same time and yay for your birthday!!!

I'm glad to hear that your DH enjoyed CP because we didn't do it last time and I was worried that my DH wouldn't be that into it. But he's such a good sport. He would go to the Playhouse Disney thing with me if I wanted him to. LOL. No but seriously, I'm glad to hear that it can be fun for big boys too

I haven't gotten so far as to thinking about clothes for the trip. We're prolly gonna go with a lot of long sleeved t-shirts, capris and jeans but I honestly haven't gotten that far yet.

Im in too, look like a fun year-long TR!! I'm gonna need more coffee though

HEY! Can you bring me some while your at it? PLEEEEZZZZZEEEEE??? Our BRAND NEW (seriously, 2 week old) coffee pot went out on Monday. We are waiting for our new one to get here. UGH.

Anyway, WELCOME! Glad your here!

 

[tinkgurl]

YAY!!!! HI!!! We loved it in June! We really want to see it around the Holidays but after this trip we will probably go back to tryin to go in June.

We usually go in July, but this past trip we had to move it to June and LOVED it too!

I love that you're doing a year long PTR

 

[daze]

HEY! Can you bring me some while your at it? PLEEEEZZZZZEEEEE??? Our BRAND NEW (seriously, 2 week old) coffee pot went out on Monday. We are waiting for our new one to get here. UGH.

Anyway, WELCOME! Glad your here!

sure I'll email ya some

and re: your comment about big boys enjoying the world. Sure it's just a matter or deciding to have fun, and realizing that disney knows FUN. Hey I love the world, and I am a classic example of a mature man, certainly not an overgrown easily amused boy

 

[sfacowgirl87]

sure I'll email ya some

and re: your comment about big boys enjoying the world. Sure it's just a matter or deciding to have fun, and realizing that disney knows FUN. Hey I love the world, and I am a classic example of a mature man, certainly not an overgrown easily amused boy

Well good news! Our coffee pot got here yesterday! Needless to say. I'm all jacked up on CAFFEINE

And as far as DH goes...I think he has found a happy medium when it comes to his "maturity". He is a very mature man, until we get to The World...then he turns into an overgrown easily amused boy Awwww...I love him

 

[an_evans]

Love your pre-trip!

Gonna have to get us a Disney box!

 

[sfacowgirl87]

Ok...so the next few posts are just going to be the things we plan on doing (and not doing) in the parks (with pictures OF COURSE!). I'm gonna start with Magic Kingdom...OFF WE GO!

FO SHO
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad-We rode this 4 times in a row without getting off on our last trip during EMHs

Mad Tea Party-As much as this ride trys to make me sick DH loves turning it into a competion with the other cups...he keeps a continuous check on the cups around us to make sure we are spinning faster than anyone else on the stupid ride.

Mickey's Philharmagic-YES YES YES. This was our first EVER attraction at Disney World. We do love it, but even if we didn't I'm pretty sure we would do it for memories sake. (See Avey for picture )

Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor-This is a serious must for us...especially after our experience last time. They picked on DH and I the entire show and kept putting us on the big screen

Snow White's Scary Adventure-We didn't do this last time and regretted it at the end of our trip.

Pirates of the Caribbean-This was closed for refurb on our last trip.We are excited to see it this time!

Space Mountain- I have to put this on our DO list even though it's going to be down the majority of the year. We don't know yet if it's going to be back up and running by the time our trip comes around but if it is...YAY for riding the new and improved SM!

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin-We did this 3 different times on our last trip. It quickly became one of DHs favorites if for no reason other than he WHOOPED MY BUTT every time. He has a steadier hand I guess...ugh.

Peter Pan's Flight-Didn't get to do this last time either. I can't wait.

The Haunted Mansion-Did this 3 times (EMHs were good to us on our last trip!!!) and noticed something new every time. One of our favorites.

It's A Small World-DH swears up and down he will NOT get on this ride again. The way I see it is it's not a proper trip to the MK if your not singing that stupid song all day. He will have to deal with it and humor me.

Entertainment...well...as far as parades go I don't exactly know (and can't exactly tell from the website as a matter of fact) what parades will be going on while we are there. As far as our last trip goes, we saw (had amazing seats for actually) the Dreams Come True AND Spectromagic parades. I feel safe saying that some of our best memories came from these parades and whatever is going on while we are there WE WILL WATCH

My pictures from Spectromagic didn't turn out to great...but this is my favorite

NOT SO MUCH
Cinderella's Carrousel-Beautiful, and I will probably spend a fair amount of time watching it and taking pictures, but we won't ride it.

Country Bear Jamboree-We watched this last time (EMHs...nothing better to do) it was very cute and we got a good laugh out of it but won't watch it again.

Magic Carpets of Aladdin-EMHs again...DH loved making it go up and down and scaring the tinkle out of me...if I have any say in it we won't get on this again. (I'm not a wuss...I'm a coaster junkie...but this is laid back enough that I am very aware of whats going on...aka I'm up in the air going in a circle, so it makes me a little nervous)

Dumbo-See Magic Carpets

Astro Orbiter-See Dumbo

The Hall of Presidents-Didn't do it last time, probably won't do it this time. Just not very interested I guess.

Mickey & Minnies Houses-Very very very cute! Walked them last time and took more pictures than should be allowed, just don't think we want to spend the time on them this time since we have new things on the agenda.
These are DHs 2 favorite things in Mickey's house. He's such a little country boy

My 2 faves from Minnie's house...

Enchanted Tiki Room-Did this last time. Not big fans. But I will say, it was a nice break from the walking and heat.

Goofy's Barnstormer-You fit my DHs 6'5 body in one of these and I will pay to see it. I just don't think it's gonna happen

Tommorland Speedway-See Goofy's Barnstormer


WE'LL SEE
Jungle Cruise-DH thinks if we are going to DAK it is pointless. I on the other hand...kind of would like to see it at least once...we didn't do it last time.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh-Ok so there is kind of a story behind this one. On our last trip I used a company called Gifts of a Lifetime to arrange a scavenger hunt for DH as a surprise. One of the things he "found" on the hunt was FPs for this ride and then when we got off the ride he had to look around in the store for the next surprise. This is a very cute ride and will do it again if time permits. Just not a favorite and want to make sure and have time for Peter Pan and Snow White.

Splash Mountain-When we went in June we didn't ride it because we didn't want to walk around the park wet. This time, since we are going in December, we probably won't ride it because we don't want to get wet and cold. On the other hand. If we can catch it maybe in EMHs where we can ride it and then head back to the resort we may. (With ponchos of course...)

UP NEXT...Hollywood Studios...

 

[mommytothreeboys]

Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor-This is a serious must for us...especially after our experience last time. They picked on DH and I the entire show and kept putting us on the big screen

We skipped this last time and are looking forward to it this trip! Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin-We did this 3 different times on our last trip. It quickly became one of DHs favorites if for no reason other than he WHOOPED MY BUTT every time. He has a steadier hand I guess...ugh.

My family is so darned competitive we just LOVE this ride! WOO-HOO!!!

It's A Small World-DH swears up and down he will NOT get on this ride again. The way I see it is it's not a proper trip to the MK if your not singing that stupid song all day. He will have to deal with it and humor me.

AGREED! We definitely torture our kids with this ride because it wouldn't be a trip to WDW without it! LOL!

Goofy's Barnstormer-You fit my DHs 6'5 body in one of these and I will pay to see it. I just don't think it's gonna happen

Nice visual...LOL!

Jungle Cruise-DH thinks if we are going to DAK it is pointless. I on the other hand...kind of would like to see it at least once...we didn't do it last time.

I love the Jungle Cruise, but it is so far removed from anything at AK! I love it simply for the corny jokes!

UP NEXT...Hollywood Studios...

Looking forward to it!

 

[ScotsMinnie]

Jungle Cruise is so good. Put your silly head on and be prepared to laugh at extremely corny jokes. If you do you'll love it!!!!

I understand your fears of getting wet on Splash in winter but I would still go for it!!!!! Put a poncho on. Its a great ride and I could never miss it out! I love the song aswell - it sticks in your head almost as bad as Its A Small World!!!

 

[tinkgurl]

You guys are great together. And by the way, love his John Deere shirt! Go Green!