Two little Princesses on their first trip to WDW *8/30 - update*

[Stasieki]

Signing on - your girls are adorable. Sounds like a great start to the trip!

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Oh -your daughters look like they were enjoying the princesses so much...

Enjoy every minute of it because you know it your DD's will be 14 and won't go anywhere near the princesses...

(although in all fairness-she'll do the other characters-like mickey, minnie, etc.)

Sounds like you had a really nice day in Epcot...

 

[Disneyvirg]

Was this Monday? We were at Epcot all day this day as well!

Woo hoo for sitting up front on the monorail! I love the pics of the girls with Andy -- you can see their excitement!

I've never heard really great things about the Norway dinner as far as the food so it was fun to read your review!

Yep, this was Monday. I'm curious to see how your family spent your Epcot day.

Yeah, they had a great time on the monorail. Andy and I were a little surprised how little the guy had to actually drive the thing. We'd ask him a question and he would get totally involved with the answer. At first I was worried we'd go too fast around a turn or something. - But we survived to tell about it!

Norway was an equally fantastic experience for food and fun! I highly recommend it!

Signing on - your girls are adorable. Sounds like a great start to the trip!

Welcome! I'm partial to the little gals, too. We had a wonderful trip!

Oh -your daughters look like they were enjoying the princesses so much...

Enjoy every minute of it because you know it your DD's will be 14 and won't go anywhere near the princesses...

(although in all fairness-she'll do the other characters-like mickey, minnie, etc.)

Sounds like you had a really nice day in Epcot...

I was noticing Kate's expression as I was posting the pics with the princesses. As I was holding onto her for the pics, she didn't seem too comfortable, but the pictures show such happy expressions, so it must not have been as traumatic and Mickey & Goofy!

 

[Disneyvirg]

Sorry I've been MIA this week! We had two birthdays - mine and Kate's this week. We also have started doing some DVC research.

Can anyone give me their DVC thoughts - pros & cons? We haven't even received the book of info, yet, so we're really at the beginning stages. If we do buy, we'd probably do Bay Lake Towers so we could be on the monorail. The problem is that we live so far away and air travel is expensive, so we probably wouldn't be able to go to WDW every year...or at least it would be hard to justify. But we figure we could bank our points and do Disney or Adventures by Disney every three years and see if they have hotels in the bigger cities near us for the years in between and just use a few of the points.

At first the figure to purchase sounds expensive, but then we started thinking about all our friends and relatives around here that have purchased, or are considering purchasing travel campers. First of all, I'm not big on ever purchasing one of these beasts. They alone, can cost way more than the 50 year purchase of DVC. Okay, so DVC has annual dues. Campers would still have expenses after the original purchase...fuel, camp site ressies, and maintenance. Campers still have to purchase all their food, just like DVC. They still have to pay for all entertainment, just like DVC.

Hmmm...can't hardly wait to get more info. Any insight is very appreciated!

Now, switching gears. My wonderful husband is in our backyard right now trying to figure out how to set up a fire pit. I tell ya, when Andy gets something in his head, he can't stop until he gets it done. Yesterday, he and a friend went to my parent's house to do some landscaping work for them. While they were down in the city, they stopped at Menards to pick up some landscaping stuff for his friend. While there they were talking about fire pits. Now, Andy's in the backyard making one! I think he thinks we'll light it tonight and roast marshmallows! We live out in the country and can see the fireworks from several towns. How awesome - roasting marshmallows and watching fireworks! I'll try to post pics of the pit when he has it done.

My goal for this weekend is to get another WDW update on here. Sorry I've slowed down so much! Life kind of got in the way!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Here's my two cents on DVC, we love ours.... After talking and researching for a year, we decided to purchase last year. The most important advice that anyone gave us was to buy where you want to stay. We really thought we wanted one of the smaller resorts so we narrowed down our list of resorts. Then we were given the advise of looking at location and amenities. Well that quickly headed us in the Beach Club direction with Storm Along Bay being non pool hopping and the easy access to World Showcase and Hollywood Studios. So we called our disney guide, Judy Kaufman and were put on a wait list for Beach Club Villas. After that purchase we decided to go down to Disney and do the tour and we purchased points at Animal Kingdom. We followed last fall with two additional add-ons through resale.
We live in Kansas so I totally understand your flight expense, our flights for December were $400 per person, but I am astounded by the amount it would have cost out of pocket for our 2br at Animal Kingdom. We are staying five nights December 20/25 and it would have cost us rack rate $9,500.00. Our Saratoga and Beach Club stay this summer would have cost us well over $6,000. So just that makes it very clear that we made the right decision to purchase our DVC.
The cons are you can't take part in any free dining, buy 4 get 3 promotions, and you don't get daily mousekeeping during your stay. So in other words, you don't get clean sheets every night and you have to make your own bed....
I can't wait to hear what you decide to do, a monorail resort sounds very tempting indeed!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Oh and your fire pit sounds very interesting, can't wait to see the pics!

 

[dd50]

Sounds like you had a great trip. Your girls are so cute. Enjoy, they grow so fast.

 

[ILuvCrush]

I know how it is when life gets in the way of DISing

We purchased DVC in December. I bought AKV.. which I love I liked that it was more relaxing both in color and location than BLT. Don't get me wrong...I'm thinking about a BLT stay maybe next year, but if it came down to it... i could go to AKV and stay there a week and never set foot in a park and still have an amazing vacation!

My DH and I him-hawed around debating on DVC for almost 2 years before we bought in. I think it was a good decision. I love WDW and travelling in general.

FYI ABD takes a TON of points! I am planning an ABD trip in 2011 with my DD to England/France and it takes about 450 points per person! My 250 pts won't stretch to do that unless I don't want to go to WDW for 3 years (which I know won't happen) and I'll still be short! So I'm planning to pay OOP and then use my points to add 3 nights on at Disneyland Paris at the end of the trip (which is a whopping 76 pts per night... but more reasonable than 900)

There is alot of info in the book. I'll be happy to answer any questions i can... and I'm sure wigd will too

Paula

 

[Charleston Princess]

Sorry I've been MIA this week! We had two birthdays - mine and Kate's this week. We also have started doing some DVC research.

Hope you and Kate had wonderful birthdays!

At first the figure to purchase sounds expensive, but then we started thinking about all our friends and relatives around here that have purchased, or are considering purchasing travel campers. First of all, I'm not big on ever purchasing one of these beasts. They alone, can cost way more than the 50 year purchase of DVC. Okay, so DVC has annual dues. Campers would still have expenses after the original purchase...fuel, camp site ressies, and maintenance. Campers still have to purchase all their food, just like DVC. They still have to pay for all entertainment, just like DVC.

That's a great way to look at it!

I think he thinks we'll light it tonight and roast marshmallows! We live out in the country and can see the fireworks from several towns. How awesome - roasting marshmallows and watching fireworks! I'll try to post pics of the pit when he has it done.

That sounds like a blast!

 

[cjackearl]

Hi I'm here! Somehow I missed the link your siggie before?
I have some catching up to do, but just wanted to say you have a beautiful family. I miss the time when my girls were little.

 

[cjackearl]

Ok, all caught up. Your MK and Epcot days sound awesome. I did TGM too and got lots of useful info.

My husband built us a firepit last summer and we use it all the time.:thumbsup Hope you enjoy your marshmallows.

 

[Disneyvirg]

Here's my two cents on DVC, we love ours.... After talking and researching for a year, we decided to purchase last year. The most important advice that anyone gave us was to buy where you want to stay. We really thought we wanted one of the smaller resorts so we narrowed down our list of resorts. Then we were given the advise of looking at location and amenities. Well that quickly headed us in the Beach Club direction with Storm Along Bay being non pool hopping and the easy access to World Showcase and Hollywood Studios. So we called our disney guide, Judy Kaufman and were put on a wait list for Beach Club Villas. After that purchase we decided to go down to Disney and do the tour and we purchased points at Animal Kingdom. We followed last fall with two additional add-ons through resale.

You make some good points. I really like the advice of buying where you’d really like to stay. We would need to do some more research before purchasing to make sure BLT would be the best fit for us. I didn’t realize some of the DVC resorts had easy access to World Showcase – may have to check that our more.

We live in Kansas so I totally understand your flight expense, our flights for December were $400 per person, but I am astounded by the amount it would have cost out of pocket for our 2br at Animal Kingdom. We are staying five nights December 20/25 and it would have cost us rack rate $9,500.00. Our Saratoga and Beach Club stay this summer would have cost us well over $6,000. So just that makes it very clear that we made the right decision to purchase our DVC.

That is a big cost difference. The thing I struggle with is – would I actually chose to go to WDW so many times if we don’t buy DVC? In my mind prior to this trip I planned that we’d do WDW – then in about 5 years, we’d head to Mexico with the girls and visit former exchange students – then in another five years we’d do our big trip to Italy – which is my dream vacation. Will doing DVC be better for us in the long run, or worse?

Lily is already asking if we can do a day at the water park the next time we go to WDW. I was surprised that she just assumes we’ll be going again. The girls had a really great time down there.

Another thing I’ve started thinking about more lately is that I LOVE to travel. Do I really want to wait until we’re older to do all our travelling? Who knows what our future will bring? Will we be in good health – or even alive still – when we want to do all our trips, or does it make more sense to buy into something like this where we’ll have to force ourselves to take neat trips so we don’t lose out on the value of buying into DVC?

The cons are you can't take part in any free dining, buy 4 get 3 promotions, and you don't get daily mousekeeping during your stay. So in other words, you don't get clean sheets every night and you have to make your own bed....

Probably not a big deal to not get daily mousekeeping – but do you have an option to get clean towels more than once during the week?

I can't wait to hear what you decide to do, a monorail resort sounds very tempting indeed!

I’ll keep you posted.

Oh and your fire pit sounds very interesting, can't wait to see the pics!

We got to use it last night. We had a great time. It’s above ground so we didn’t have to commit a hole to the ground. Andy’s planning on making it a bit smaller and making it prettier by putting bricks around it. I’ll post pics when he has it truly finished.

Sounds like you had a great trip. Your girls are so cute. Enjoy, they grow so fast.

Thank you. We did have a great trip. Thanks for the compliment on my girls. We’re trying to enjoy them as best we can. They can be so darn funny!

I know how it is when life gets in the way of DISing

Tell me about it. I have a hard time keeping up on all the TR, let alone my contributions!

We purchased DVC in December. I bought AKV.. which I love I liked that it was more relaxing both in color and location than BLT. Don't get me wrong...I'm thinking about a BLT stay maybe next year, but if it came down to it... i could go to AKV and stay there a week and never set foot in a park and still have an amazing vacation!

You make a great point about the theming of the two resorts. I have never been impressed by the look of the Contemporary. I was checking out the pics of BLT online a couple nights ago and was really impressed by how it looks. I’m not really into that style, but it does look really nice. The concept pics of the pool look great, too. I didn’t realize the DVC part would get it’s own pool!

My DH and I him-hawed around debating on DVC for almost 2 years before we bought in. I think it was a good decision. I love WDW and travelling in general.

FYI ABD takes a TON of points! I am planning an ABD trip in 2011 with my DD to England/France and it takes about 450 points per person! My 250 pts won't stretch to do that unless I don't want to go to WDW for 3 years (which I know won't happen) and I'll still be short! So I'm planning to pay OOP and then use my points to add 3 nights on at Disneyland Paris at the end of the trip (which is a whopping 76 pts per night... but more reasonable than 900)

Wow! That’s a lot of points for ABD! I guess the way to look at it, though, is that the DVC points at WDW are just for the room. ABD includes several meals, touring, and the rooms. You’re probably actually getting pretty good bang for your buck. Do you have to reserve everyone with DVC or can I be covered by our DVC points, then Andy with cash?

There is alot of info in the book. I'll be happy to answer any questions I can... and I'm sure wigd will too

I can hardly wait for that book to get here! Any idea how long it actually takes? I think I spoke with our sales gal Thursday night. So there’s a holiday thrown in there, too!

Hope you and Kate had wonderful birthdays!

They were pretty good. It’s so fun watching a three year old enjoy her birthday. When I went into her room to wake her up she was so excited to be three fingers. The next day she asked if she was still three!

That's a great way to look at it!

I think I’m looking for ways to justify to the nay-sayers around here. I’m sure my husband’s parents won’t be too impressed if we buy, but their camper is probably worth at least twice the cost of a DVC ownership, plus there’s no way that camper will still be around 50 years from now, and they’ve only used it 2-3 times since they purchased it in the fall of 2007!

That sounds like a blast!

It was lots of fun last night. It got really cold here, so the fire felt great. The girls roasted marshmallows and ran around trying to catch fireflies. We watched the fireworks from at least 5 different towns.

Hi I'm here! Somehow I missed the link your siggie before?
I have some catching up to do, but just wanted to say you have a beautiful family. I miss the time when my girls were little.

Welcome!

Ok, all caught up. Your MK and Epcot days sound awesome. I did TGM too and got lots of useful info.

We had a great time! Isn’t TGM great! Andy loved looking at “them.” I think it made my obsession with planning seem worthwhile to him.

My husband built us a firepit last summer and we use it all the time.:thumbsup Hope you enjoy your marshmallows.

It’s tons of fun. I just hope we remember to use it regularly. Nice thing about it, is that we can use it year-round if we want. A fire on a chilly winter night could be just as fun as a hot summer night!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

We could walk to the International Gateway in less than 5 minutes....
It was wonderful to be able to get back quickly right after Illuminations!

 

[Disneyvirg]

We made it to DHS in plenty of time for RD. I high tailed it over to get TSM FP while Andy took the girls to wait for me by the VOTLM. The FP line for TSM was INSANE!!! It was really long, and I didn’t take my time getting there. Having learned my lesson the day before at Soarin, I knew I needed to ask the FP attendant for help with getting a ticket for Kate. I explained what had happened. He told me that Soarin attendant was wrong and that he never should have told me that. He said I absolutely did NOT need a ticket for Kate since she was under three. I think our return time was around 11:00 or so. I can’t imagine showing up late to the park and dawdling on the way back there and expect to get that ride in early. It was completely nuts. Probably even worse than Soarin was the day before.

Due to the length of the TSM FP line, we didn’t make it to VOTLM in time for the first show. We were able to go in and wait pretty soon after we got there. Lily told me that she was sure that Ariel told Flounder all about them. She told the girls the night before at PSB that she would, and Lily was sure he had. Neither girl liked this show. They were scared by Ursula and it was too loud for them. I was pretty bummed. It just wasn’t what I had hoped for.

Next up was Playhouse Disney. We went over and waited in line for the 10:30 show.

Here are the girls watching one of the monitors while in line:

Andy and I were surprised to find that they do not have chairs in there. It was kind of tough for Andy to sit on the floor through the performance, but it was completely worth the little bit of pain we experienced. Both girls were entranced. They loved it. It was really fun watching Kate want to dance throughout the whole thing. This attraction was fabulous and probably the most worth-while attraction for our family at DHS.

Here’s a couple pics of Kate during the show. They said we couldn’t use flash, so my photos don’t look too good:

Then we hit TSM. It was great being able to walk right through to the front of the waiting area. Lily rode with me and Kate rode with Andy. I was able to play a lot more than Andy was. Andy was trying to help Kate get some points, but I don’t think she or Lily really cared that they didn’t get high scores. The ride was very cute and we had a fun time.

Here’s Lily and my final scores. Not great, but we had fun:

Next we went to Beauty and the Beast. Andy took the girls in and I went to grab us lunch. I was worried that they’d let me carry it into the theater, but had no problems. Andy found us a wonderful spot off to the side right in front of the planters. The girls stood next to it like a counter and ate their lunch. They were able to stand throughout the performance without disrupting anyone. I really liked the show, but I think everyone else thought it was just okay.

Here’s a couple pics of the girls watching the show:

This was the end to our DHS day. We grabbed a Photopass Photographer on our way out. He didn’t do the greatest job. The girls were getting hot and crabby so we didn’t try to find anymore of them. I still need to upload my photopass photos. Once I do that, I'll just add them all in a separate post up until I get caught up.

We went back to the Poly for swimming and naps. This was the only evening we didn’t have an ADR. We took advantage of this and went for a longer swim.

I wasn’t super impressed with the meal we had at Captain Cook’s our first day, so I wanted to try something different. We hoped on the monorail and rode over to the Grand Floridian. It took us a while, but we eventually found their CS. I’m not sure of the name…was it Gasparilla Grille? It was okay, but again, not a favorite meal. We rode the monorail back to the Poly and got Dole Whips and ice cream for dessert. I miss Dole Whips!

Here the girls are enjoying their ice cream outside:

And here’s a few friends we met while outside:

At this point we headed back to the room to call it a night. It was nice to have a more leisurely evening, but I preferred the evening ADRs.

Up next: MK Morning, CRT lunch, and Le Cellier supper

 

[cjackearl]

Yes, that TSM crowd is insane, isn't it?

Smart idea to get lunch for your girls to eat during Beauty and the Beast.

I love the picture of your DH with Lily. They both look so happy.

I miss my Dole Whips too.

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Looks like a great day! Sometimes it's nice to have no meals to rush to but I agree, it's great to have a nice table service to end the day.... We saw Beauty and the Beast in March and I loved the show, in fact we all did! We sat closer, they girls might have liked it better up close, but who knows? I'm glad Playhouse Disney was so much fun, we will have to go there when our granddaughter is old enough!

 

[Charleston Princess]

I think I’m looking for ways to justify to the nay-sayers around here. I’m sure my husband’s parents won’t be too impressed if we buy, but their camper is probably worth at least twice the cost of a DVC ownership, plus there’s no way that camper will still be around 50 years from now, and they’ve only used it 2-3 times since they purchased it in the fall of 2007!

You won't find any naysayers here -- we are all enablers and will think of ways to help you convince the other people in your life!

What day did you do DHS? We were there on Tuesday, but you will hear all about that at some point. I agree about the TSM lines -- both are always super crazy!

I love relaxing nights back at the resort -- glad you got to have one and enjoy those Dole Whips -- I would like to stay at the Poly same time just to be near them.

 

[Disneyvirg]

Yes, that TSM crowd is insane, isn't it?

Smart idea to get lunch for your girls to eat during Beauty and the Beast.

I love the picture of your DH with Lily. They both look so happy.

I miss my Dole Whips too.

Yes, competely insane. We enjoyed the ride, but I'm not sure it's worth the headache!

Lunch did work out very nicely. Our Disney version of multi-tasking!

It was a cute shot of DH & DD. They were having a great time!

I wish there was a place I could buy a Dole Whip close by.

Looks like a great day! Sometimes it's nice to have no meals to rush to but I agree, it's great to have a nice table service to end the day.... We saw Beauty and the Beast in March and I loved the show, in fact we all did! We sat closer, they girls might have liked it better up close, but who knows? I'm glad Playhouse Disney was so much fun, we will have to go there when our granddaughter is old enough!

How old is your granddaughter? It looked like kids up to the age of 7 or 8 were enjoying the show, but the really little ones got the most enjoyment out of it.

You won't find any naysayers here -- we are all enablers and will think of ways to help you convince the other people in your life!

What day did you do DHS? We were there on Tuesday, but you will hear all about that at some point. I agree about the TSM lines -- both are always super crazy!

I love relaxing nights back at the resort -- glad you got to have one and enjoy those Dole Whips -- I would like to stay at the Poly same time just to be near them.

Yes, the Disboards is my drug of choice. Thank you for enabling!

We were there on Tuesday, too. Can't wait to read about what your gang did.

The Poly has many great attributes, but the Dole Whips are high on my list!

 

[stace208]

I'm here and all caught up! Your girls are absolutely adorable! We did so many of the same things...just weeks apart! It will be neat to read along and see things from another perspective. One thing I know is the same-the insane run for FP's at Soarin' and TSM. Crazy!! Can you believe I only had 1 Dole Whip the whole time at the Poly???? So many good treats, so little time-and tummy room!

Interestingly enough, we are also researching DVC. I have a friend that bought in December. I talked to them Thursday and the guy is sending me out the packet of information. My main concern is size. I feel like I'd have to get enough points to get a 2 bedroom. My kids don't like to sleep in the same bed and as they get older, that won't be appropriate anyways. I did notice that AKV has sleep chairs too...so much to think about, isn't it???

 

[Disneyvirg]

I'm here and all caught up! Your girls are absolutely adorable! We did so many of the same things...just weeks apart! It will be neat to read along and see things from another perspective. One thing I know is the same-the insane run for FP's at Soarin' and TSM. Crazy!! Can you believe I only had 1 Dole Whip the whole time at the Poly???? So many good treats, so little time-and tummy room!

Interestingly enough, we are also researching DVC. I have a friend that bought in December. I talked to them Thursday and the guy is sending me out the packet of information. My main concern is size. I feel like I'd have to get enough points to get a 2 bedroom. My kids don't like to sleep in the same bed and as they get older, that won't be appropriate anyways. I did notice that AKV has sleep chairs too...so much to think about, isn't it???

Yeah, I'm curious to see what your family accomplished, too!

Only one Dole Whip? I found that we never once ate anything in the parks besides either lunch or supper. We never got a dole whip float or mickey head ice cream, or an ice cream sandwich from Main Street Bakery. I feel like we missed out on so many yummy opportunities, but I'm not sure I would have had room in my tummy for more than we did manage to snarf down!

Funny that we're on the same track with DVC. We even spoke with our reps the same night. You'll have to let me know when you get your materials. I can hardly stand the wait - I have so many questions I'm hoping will be answered in the materials. Did you get an email that has a link for a presentation? I cannot get ours to open. I just want to know everything, NOW!

You make some great points about the room needed as the kiddos grow. Mine are both girls, so the separate beds isn't such a big deal, but I like how much more room the DVC have available.

Keep me up to date on your DVC decisions!