Wait, weren't you just at Disney World? An August '14 Pre-Trip Report *updated 8/24*

[TheMaxRebo]

Awesome!!

I think it would be really cool to be able to look out your window and see the castle!! So yay!!

I agree! Though, I am worried that after this trip we won't be able to go back to a regular-old Disney view anymore

Congrats on upgrading to the Contemporary. Have not stayed there, but I'm sure it will be great. Not only the monorail, but the option to walk to/from the MK is so nice (especially if the monorail is down, like it was once on our trip). For room tips, the Unofficial Guide usually has recommendations on specific rooms to ask for, but I don't remember what it says for the Contemporary. I bet you'll have an amazing view, though!

Than you! Judi doesn't seem keen on the walk no matter how short but we shall see - definitely nice to at least have that option if the monorail is down.

Thanks for the tip - from reading a few places the main tips for requests I see are to request the 9th floor or higher to minimize the view of the convention center roof and to request an odd number room so that the bed is positioned so you can see the MK while lying in bed as opposed to being positioned the other way.

Hi! I just read your TR from last year after searching for F&W reviews, and was hooked, so I decided to join in here! Your family is adorable-- and congrats on the next baby!
We actually live two towns over from you (Brewster), so it's fun to read about all the familiar sites (White Plains, etc.). I'm also dyingg to get down to the city to see Aladdin. Fingers crossed for my birthday!
Yay to the Contemporary upgrade! We upgraded to the WL from POR last year and can't go back. The WL owns us now!

Wow - thanks! Glad you are here! That's so funny that we are two towns over but "meet" in a pre-trip report. We live on the western edge of Mahopac near the Taconic Parkway ... right up the road from Holy Smoke bar-b-q if you know where that is.

Hope that you get the Aladdin tickets for your birthday - we definitely enjoyed it! I think that is now becoming one of my bigger worries - that in the future we won't be able to "slum it" at a moderate anymore. Though, I guess if that is my biggest problem my life is pretty darn good

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Pre Trip Report: Part 14 - Arts and Crafts projects​

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No big updates, but I have been thinking of ways to commemorate the trip. One thing I am hoping to do is a "real" video (as opposed to the collection of pictures I did last time) and thinking of scenes I want to ensure I get that match up with songs I am planning to use in the background.

Another project I am thinking of doing is building off of the "hands" project I did for Mother's Day and that is to create a bit of an ABC chart, but for each letter I would fill in the inside of a block style letter with pictures from our trip that tart with that letter.

If this takes off I will probably add this to the first post to keep track of things but if anyone has suggestions I would greatly appreciate it. (I am sure I am missing some obvious things)

Below is my start:

• A - Ariel, apple, Anna, Aurora
• B - Belle, Beast, Big Thunder Mountain, bread pudding, Barnstormer, Buzz
• C - Cinderella, Contemporary, castle, candy, Carousel, Carousel of Progress, cupcakes
• D - Donald, Daisy, Duck, Darth Vader, Dwarfs, Dolewhip, Dinosaur
• E - Eiffel, Earfel, Ears, Elsa, Eyeore, Expedition Everest
• F - Fairy, Fairy Godmother, Figment, Frozen, FastPass+
• G - Goofy, Gray Stuff, Gaston, Great Movie Ride
• H - Haunted Mansion, Hall of Presidents, Hollywood, Hollywood Brown Derby
• I - Ice Cream, Italy, It's a Small World, Incredibles
• J - Journey into the Imagination, Jasmine, Jungle Cruise
• K - Kiss, Kermit, Ketchup, Kali River Rapids, Kilimanjaro Safari
• L - Lion King, Lady Tremaine, Living with the Land, Little Mermaid, Lumiere
• M - Mickey, Minnie, Mouse, Mine Train, Monorail, Maelstrom, Muppets, Main St.
• N - Neverland, Nemo, Norway
• O - Orangebird, O’Canada, Once upon a Toy, 'Ohana
• P - Peter Pan, Peoplemover, Pirates, Philarmagic, princesses
• Q - Queen, queue
• R - Robin Hood, Rapunzel, Rafiki, Railroad
• S - Snow White, Splash Mountain, Stacey, Scuttle
• T - Test Track, Tomorrowland, Toy Story, Tigger, Tea Cups, Tree of Life
• U - Under the Sea, Ursula, United Kingdom, Umbrella,
• V - Vanellope, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Villains,
• W - Winnie the Pooh, Wait times, Walt, Woody, Waterfall
• X - X-wing, X marks the spot
• Y - Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe, Yeti, Yesterday,
• Z - Zorro, Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, Zurg,

By the way, I got the idea to do an alphabet from a Muppet one I saw on DarkInk ... so thinking something like this, just with picture collages:

TTFN

 

[KatMark]

Pre Trip Report: Part 14 - Arts and Crafts projects​

​

​

No big updates, but I have been thinking of ways to commemorate the trip. One thing I am hoping to do is a "real" video (as opposed to the collection of pictures I did last time) and thinking of scenes I want to ensure I get that match up with songs I am planning to use in the background.

Another project I am thinking of doing is building off of the "hands" project I did for Mother's Day and that is to create a bit of an ABC chart, but for each letter I would fill in the inside of a block style letter with pictures from our trip that tart with that letter.

If this takes off I will probably add this to the first post to keep track of things but if anyone has suggestions I would greatly appreciate it. (I am sure I am missing some obvious things)

Below is my start:

• A - Ariel, apple, Anna, Aurora
• B - Belle, Beast, Big Thunder Mountain, bread pudding, Barnstormer, Buzz
• C - Cinderella, Contemporary, castle, candy, Carousel, Carousel of Progress, cupcakes
• D - Donald, Daisy, Duck, Darth Vader, Dwarfs, Dolewhip, Dinosaur
• E - Eiffel, Earfel, Ears, Elsa, Eyeore, Expedition Everest
• F - Fairy, Fairy Godmother, Figment, Frozen, FastPass+
• G - Goofy, Gray Stuff, Gaston, Great Movie Ride
• H - Haunted Mansion, Hall of Presidents, Hollywood, Hollywood Brown Derby
• I - Ice Cream, Italy, It's a Small World, Incredibles
• J - Journey into the Imagination, Jasmine, Jungle Cruise
• K - Kiss, Kermit, Ketchup, Kali River Rapids, Kilimanjaro Safari
• L - Lion King, Lady Tremaine, Living with the Land, Little Mermaid, Lumiere
• M - Mickey, Minnie, Mouse, Mine Train, Monorail, Maelstrom, Muppets, Main St.
• N - Neverland, Nemo, Norway
• O - Orangebird, O’Canada, Once upon a Toy, 'Ohana
• P - Peter Pan, Peoplemover, Pirates, Philarmagic, princesses
• Q - Queen, queue
• R - Robin Hood, Rapunzel, Rafiki, Railroad
• S - Snow White, Splash Mountain, Stacey, Scuttle
• T - Test Track, Tomorrowland, Toy Story, Tigger, Tea Cups, Tree of Life
• U - Under the Sea, Ursula, United Kingdom, Umbrella,
• V - Vanellope, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Villains,
• W - Winnie the Pooh, Wait times, Walt, Woody, Waterfall
• X - X-wing, X marks the spot
• Y - Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe, Yeti, Yesterday,
• Z - Zorro, Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, Zurg,

By the way, I got the idea to do an alphabet from a Muppet one I saw on DarkInk ... so thinking something like this, just with picture collages:

TTFN

Love this idea. A few that popped into my head: D -- Dumbo, P -- Piglet

 

[MidnightParade]

Love the idea of a video! I have seen some that just make me laugh and then cry(in a good way...I guess, lol!) excited to see see what you do with it!

Some random ones off the top of my head....

A - Astro Orbiter!
P - Pooh
S - Soar'in
O - Olaf

 

[teekathepony]

Love the idea of the video, while I was reading that, "Best Day of my Life" by American Authors was on the radio, could be a good one to use for your video, unless you're going with all disney songs!
The letters idea is really cool too, but I admit that everything I thought of, you already had. I'll keep thinking. Lol

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[MarbleBob]

I love the idea of the Alphabet!!! So cool.

I usually take a camcorder on our trips too. I've never made a fancy vacation video with transitions or music, but we love watching the old footage. One thing that I really like doing is getting the kids reactions to things on video. For example, when we are in line for a ride, I ask them what they are in line for, what they think it's going to be like (scary, silly, thrilling, etc.) and so on. And then when we get off the ride, I capture their expressions. "Dad, that was awesome!!" And the other thing I like to do periodically is take turns asking them questions towards the end of the day like, "what was the funniest thing that happened today?", "What was the best thing that happened today?", "Did anything bum you out today?" Etc. It's fun to go back and watch their responses several years later

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Love this idea. A few that popped into my head: D -- Dumbo, P -- Piglet

Thank you - and those are great - especially Dumbo, definitely will use that one!

Love the idea of a video! I have seen some that just make me laugh and then cry(in a good way...I guess, lol!) excited to see see what you do with it!

Some random ones off the top of my head....

A - Astro Orbiter!
P - Pooh
S - Soar'in
O - Olaf

Yeah some of the videos really are great - I think that is the main reason I want to do one, so that I have that memory!

Thanks for the suggestion, and funny because I totally meant to include Olaf!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Love the idea of the video, while I was reading that, "Best Day of my Life" by American Authors was on the radio, could be a good one to use for your video, unless you're going with all disney songs!
The letters idea is really cool too, but I admit that everything I thought of, you already had. I'll keep thinking. Lol

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Using that song is a great idea ... only thing is, that is the song I used the last time behind the photo montage

http://youtu.be/rkE9yLEcW40

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I love the idea of the Alphabet!!! So cool.

I usually take a camcorder on our trips too. I've never made a fancy vacation video with transitions or music, but we love watching the old footage. One thing that I really like doing is getting the kids reactions to things on video. For example, when we are in line for a ride, I ask them what they are in line for, what they think it's going to be like (scary, silly, thrilling, etc.) and so on. And then when we get off the ride, I capture their expressions. "Dad, that was awesome!!" And the other thing I like to do periodically is take turns asking them questions towards the end of the day like, "what was the funniest thing that happened today?", "What was the best thing that happened today?", "Did anything bum you out today?" Etc. It's fun to go back and watch their responses several years later

Thank you for the tips - I think asking questions is a great idea.

Definitely do want to get a bunch of shots of just images of them having fun that I can play without sound (just songs in the background) but will definitely include the "best of" answers

 

[Leshaface]

Cool idea!

A- Alice in Wonderland
M- Monsters Inc
S-Sulley
T - Three Caballeros

I was thinking "Good Life" by One Republic would be an awesome song (since they used that song in Disney commercials) but you would have to get the edited version

 

[klacey1]

Wow - thanks! Glad you are here! That's so funny that we are two towns over but "meet" in a pre-trip report. We live on the western edge of Mahopac near the Taconic Parkway ... right up the road from Holy Smoke bar-b-q if you know where that is.

Hope that you get the Aladdin tickets for your birthday - we definitely enjoyed it! I think that is now becoming one of my bigger worries - that in the future we won't be able to "slum it" at a moderate anymore. Though, I guess if that is my biggest problem my life is pretty darn good

Yup, we've been to Holy Smokes a few times over the years! Too funny!

I LOVE the alphabet photo montage idea! A video sounds great, too-- the best ones I've seen on YouTube capture peoples'/kids' reactions to things like Wishes, a ride, etc. Photos are awesome but video is way much dynamic/obviously captures a lot more!

 

[Arden01]

Hello - I am now following your PTR because we'll be at WDW the same time as you and it looks like we have some of the same park days and ADR's! So, I'm sure we'll bump into you and your family multiple times. It will be me, DH, and twin DD's (age 9). We also live outside of NYC, but in NJ. We try to take our girls as much as we can to B'way too. Hoping for Aladdin this summer or fall. This is our very first trip to WDW.

These are the park days/ADR's that coincide with yours-
Mon, 8/25: HK afternoon and 5:30 ADR HBD for Fantasmic
Tues, 8/26: AK 8:10 ADR Tusker House
Wed, 8/27: MK 8:25 ADR CP (I know you have CRT). Hoping for an Anna and Elsa FP too for my Frozen obsessed daughters!
We arrive on 8/21 and will be leaving the evening of 8/27. Staying at BC.

Anyway, hope to run into you and your family

 

[Dugette]

The videos are a lot of fun to go back and watch, plus they can help jog your memory while doing the TR. Probably my favorite thing we did with video was turn our December 2010 clips into movie trailers (using iMovie's templates). They're kind-of hilarious (you can find them in my TR, if you're bored). Cool idea on the letters. I'm too tired to think of ideas tonight, but sounds like you've got a lot of good ones.

 

[missangelalexis]

That is such a cool idea, love it!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Cool idea!

A- Alice in Wonderland
M- Monsters Inc
S-Sulley
T - Three Caballeros

I was thinking "Good Life" by One Republic would be an awesome song (since they used that song in Disney commercials) but you would have to get the edited version

Thank you - and thanks for the suggestions. Alice is a great one as are the Three Cabaleros since we always hit up Mexican It's a Small World!

Yup, we've been to Holy Smokes a few times over the years! Too funny!

I LOVE the alphabet photo montage idea! A video sounds great, too-- the best ones I've seen on YouTube capture peoples'/kids' reactions to things like Wishes, a ride, etc. Photos are awesome but video is way much dynamic/obviously captures a lot more!

It is a small world after all, isn't it!

Thank you. We do put together a photo collage after each trip but would like to try a video as well just to see how it comes out and if it is worth the effort

The videos are a lot of fun to go back and watch, plus they can help jog your memory while doing the TR. Probably my favorite thing we did with video was turn our December 2010 clips into movie trailers (using iMovie's templates). They're kind-of hilarious (you can find them in my TR, if you're bored). Cool idea on the letters. I'm too tired to think of ideas tonight, but sounds like you've got a lot of good ones.

Thanks - and good point about helping out with writing the TR - otherwise I wind up taking pictures of things just to have it in order where we went, etc.

That sounds like a fun idea to make the movie trailers! Picturing a lot of them starting with a deep voice that says "In a world ....."

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Hello - I am now following your PTR because we'll be at WDW the same time as you and it looks like we have some of the same park days and ADR's! So, I'm sure we'll bump into you and your family multiple times. It will be me, DH, and twin DD's (age 9). We also live outside of NYC, but in NJ. We try to take our girls as much as we can to B'way too. Hoping for Aladdin this summer or fall. This is our very first trip to WDW.

These are the park days/ADR's that coincide with yours-
Mon, 8/25: HK afternoon and 5:30 ADR HBD for Fantasmic
Tues, 8/26: AK 8:10 ADR Tusker House
Wed, 8/27: MK 8:25 ADR CP (I know you have CRT). Hoping for an Anna and Elsa FP too for my Frozen obsessed daughters!
We arrive on 8/21 and will be leaving the evening of 8/27. Staying at BC.

Anyway, hope to run into you and your family

Welcome and thanks! And Congrats on your first trip to The World!

Very cool that our trips overlap and even the parks/meals so much! It would be great to Meet up at some point! I am sure Olivia would love to meet your daughters!

That is such a cool idea, love it!!

Thanks Alexis! Hopefully it actually works out

 

[amberg93]

Ooh Contemporary upgrade! Jealous. Though I can't be too jealous right now since Marie and I might be heading up to a Deluxe for September(? It's up in the air right now so I don't want to jinx it by saying that it'll for sure happen).

The alphabet is a great idea. If you're missing anything obvious that hasn't been pointed out I'm missing it right now too

As for the video it's a great idea. Sometimes I just turned on the camera and recorded last week, just random things with no consequence even and I love the videos already. I've got one of everyone at a dinner reservation, a couple from waiting in line, etc. Just doing normal conversations (plus on improv-musical from Veronica and Merrranda that is A+ work) that I'm glad that I recorded because there are some gems in there. But the question thing is a good idea too, it could give a launching point.

 

[Arden01]

Welcome and thanks! And Congrats on your first trip to The World!

Very cool that our trips overlap and even the parks/meals so much! It would be great to Meet up at some point! I am sure Olivia would love to meet your daughters!

Absolutely! PM me if you are ever heading into the city on a weekend and maybe our girls can meet before WDW. If not, we'll definitely have to meet you when we are there. Even though I've been doing a ton of research, it's still our first trip and we'll need all the advice we can! Very excited!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Ooh Contemporary upgrade! Jealous. Though I can't be too jealous right now since Marie and I might be heading up to a Deluxe for September(? It's up in the air right now so I don't want to jinx it by saying that it'll for sure happen).

ooh, very exciting! (*and I did knock on wood when I typed that*)

I hope it works out Amber!

The alphabet is a great idea. If you're missing anything obvious that hasn't been pointed out I'm missing it right now too

As for the video it's a great idea. Sometimes I just turned on the camera and recorded last week, just random things with no consequence even and I love the videos already. I've got one of everyone at a dinner reservation, a couple from waiting in line, etc. Just doing normal conversations (plus on improv-musical from Veronica and Merrranda that is A+ work) that I'm glad that I recorded because there are some gems in there. But the question thing is a good idea too, it could give a launching point.

Thanks for the thoughts - and I think just capturing some regular conversation will be great too - little kids say some funny things completely on accident at times

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Absolutely! PM me if you are ever heading into the city on a weekend and maybe our girls can meet before WDW. If not, we'll definitely have to meet you when we are there. Even though I've been doing a ton of research, it's still our first trip and we'll need all the advice we can! Very excited!

Sounds great ... definitely open to any questions you may have. Also happy to share my planning spreadsheets if that would be of help!