Walk-ing Back to Disney! COMPLETED 10/16! A Fall 2014 PTR!

[sweetpeaandevie]

Your plans look Great!!! . It looks like the only day we are planning on the same park is the 4th, which is our last day. we are eating at Teppan Edo after some food and wine stuff. Of course, we won't REALLY know until the schedule comes out....BOO!!

I can't wait to see your shirts!!! I am planning on making a few too. Mom already did a bunch. Now that I have meals planned I need to figure out outfits and accessories!!!

 

[Denovagirl]

For being so new at planning your a PRO now!!! I love your plans.. I really do. You have relaxing days and days full blown Disney FUN!!!

That is AWESOME you have a friend imagineer!!! I did hear all about the new avatarland and i am one of the few who is really excited about it!! i just know Disney will do it justice!!!

QS: Cosmic Ray is really good!!! you get a lot of food for a QS location!
as for Epcot i cannot help we haven't been to either restaurant..
DO DRINK YOUR WAY AROUND THE WORLD!

Too bad we won't be overlapping that's my ONLY downfall on your planning!

Please post pictures of your shirts?

We didn't try Cosmic Rays last time so we may have to give it a go...

I have to say I am not really an Avatar fan, but visually it was nice to watch, so I know it will be fun to see come to life, even if I thought the movie was kinda lame, plus there are like 5 more Avatar movies planned to be released so maybe I will like some of the others?

Oh, and I havent done any shirts yet! I just have some sketches ready so I know what I am doing...maybe I will have to do a teaser with those?!

Wow--you've been thinking about this trip! I can't wait to see all the shirts you make!

Besides Pinocchio haus, the only other QS we did last time at MK was pecos bills. We all loved what we got there. I've also always heard good things about tortuga tavern but we can never find it open.

Tortuga was closed when we went last time too! And since crowds are supposed to be so low I bet theyll be closed again this time...but we did do Pecos Bills and I am considering going back there. We all got the build your own taco bowl thing and I liked that a lot. You go tons of food for your $$ bc you could load that sucker up! Desserts werent that great, but a lot of the QS desserts arent I guess. Have you ever tried Sleepy Hollow? That looks good, but I think its seasonal too, but seems like it might be open around Halloween based off its name?

Yeah for the tax refund and that Disney is officially ON.

I love your days all planned out with the pictures. Such a good visual for those of us following along and its getting me all excited for your trip (kind of strange but true). Your plans sound really perfect. I can't wait to see all your shirts, especially the AK ones.

You have a friend that is an Imagineer? How cool.

As for an extra counter service dinner at MK I think the only other one (besides Cosmic Rays) is Pecos Bills. My dad likes Casey's but I'm not sure what you get there on the dining plan. I am craving Pinocchio's now that you mention it. I was going to suggest a counter service at one of the monorail hotels but I wouldn't waste my party time with that (we always drive so we have to take the monorail or ferry over from the TTC but you guys will be dropped off right at the park).

Ummmm, 1/10 !!!! And at Epcot during F/W festival!!!! AWESOME
Via Napoli is on my list for our next trip (whenever that is...). You know you can use your dining credits for most of the snacks at F&W festival, right? And the concerts are fun, especially if it is a cool band. The stage is very close so it is a great concert. A few years ago we saw Sugar Ray and Mark McGrath touched my hand. EEEKKKKKKK, one of my favorite Disney memories. They should announce the concert line up over the summer or early spring.

You guys will have so much fun at Play and Dine - especially with Sophia and Doc there now. We missed them by about 10 days but got to meet Sophia in the park. I think I was more excited then my niece and nephew because the line was REALLY short. LOL.

I think if your adults only night turns into a family night you will be good. Especially because that day is pretty laid back (based on your schedule) and your girls won't be wore out and prone to a melt down. You and Chris can enjoy an adult beverage if you want since you don't have to drive and a stroller with a cup holder is a mom's (and dad's) best friend.

You should link to that post in the first post of your PTR. Mostly because I love it and might have to reference it over the next few months.

I will post shirt photos as soon as I get them going! Right now all I have are some sketches....maybe Ill post those as a teaser, lol..

We did try Caseys last time, it was okay, but just hot dogs really... I didnt care for mine, it was a chili cheese dog and it was sooo messy...I hate messy food. But the fries were good. My hubby loved his tho, he got some sort of bbq hotdog that had pulled pork and coleslaw on it.... not my thing.

And yes, I plan on hoarding a lot of my snack credits to use at F&W!!!
I figure I can pay the couple bucks for the Mickey Bar and use that credit for some awesome food there, lol!! And I am excited to see if any concerts fall on our dates!! In the past theyve had one of my ALL TIME fave bands EVER, like 2 or 3 times... don't laugh, don't judge, but it's Hanson! I was OBSESSED with them back in the day and they still hold a spot in my heart, so my ultimate wish would be that theyre playing then!! But I am sure Ill stop and watch anyone who is there!! I would have loved Sugar Ray!!

You're right about family night instead of date night, I know it will still be fun and we can still indulge a little! Plus Maddie will be over 2 years old finally and I think she will be doing a lot better at sitting for longer periods in restaurants. We're finally getting over the hump where we have to scarf all our food down super fast in case she goes ballistic in a chilis or something! LoL! But thats the only way they learn!!

Your plans look Great!!! . It looks like the only day we are planning on the same park is the 4th, which is our last day. we are eating at Teppan Edo after some food and wine stuff. Of course, we won't REALLY know until the schedule comes out....BOO!!

I can't wait to see your shirts!!! I am planning on making a few too. Mom already did a bunch. Now that I have meals planned I need to figure out outfits and accessories!!!

That's a good day for a Dis Meet!! Not as many rides at Epcot, so we can totally meet there for a few minutes if the dates dont change on us!!!

BTW... you were totally right about the MNSSHP dates, they change (historically) on the week we are going from Tues/Fri to Sun/Thur/Fri, so my schedule does match up if they stick with that!! THANKS for bringing it to my attention!

I can't wait to do my shirts!!! I'll probably start on them soon, because, why not?? LoL! But I am trying to space my stuff out so I have more things to do and look forward to and keep me busy!!

I did buy a couple trip things at the store today to go in "The Box"... my hubby laughed that I was already dragging that box out again, I basically kept it out for months last time and just threw all the random Disney stuff into it so I wouldn't forget it!! I am slightly bummed we wont really need our lanyards this trip... we wont have to carry any sort of card, so really it's not needed. Maybe to hold pins, but Olivia stuck hers on her purse last time and I was thinking of putting mine on my camera strap and the hubs just carried his traders in his pocket... lol...

I am GOING to go look up your moms TR tonight, I forgot the other night and had a sick kiddo yesterday.. sigh... it was a rough night.

 

[STLMickeyMom]

Tortuga was closed when we went last time too! And since crowds are supposed to be so low I bet theyll be closed again this time...but we did do Pecos Bills and I am considering going back there. We all got the build your own taco bowl thing and I liked that a lot. You go tons of food for your $$ bc you could load that sucker up! Desserts werent that great, but a lot of the QS desserts arent I guess. Have you ever tried Sleepy Hollow? That looks good, but I think its seasonal too, but seems like it might be open around Halloween based off its name?

I loved that taco bowl!! I don't know if i was just starving, or it was really that great, but I couldn't get enough!!

we haven't tried sleepy hollow, but those waffle sandwiches sound delicious!! the other QS I had on the list was the friar's nook. it's also seasonal and is kind of snacky, but it had hummus and soy milk (which the girls love) and teriyaki chicken nuggets which sounded sort of good and different. we have done cosmic ray's several times, but it always bugs me how you can only order burgers in one line, chicken in one line, etc. what if I want chicken and rich wants a burger--i'm not waiting in another line! anyway, I've also NEVER been in there when it isn't crowded. but, we still seem to end up there. it's not bad food, but I've never had anything stand out there either.

 

[Denovagirl]

I loved that taco bowl!! I don't know if i was just starving, or it was really that great, but I couldn't get enough!!

we haven't tried sleepy hollow, but those waffle sandwiches sound delicious!! the other QS I had on the list was the friar's nook. it's also seasonal and is kind of snacky, but it had hummus and soy milk (which the girls love) and teriyaki chicken nuggets which sounded sort of good and different. we have done cosmic ray's several times, but it always bugs me how you can only order burgers in one line, chicken in one line, etc. what if I want chicken and rich wants a burger--i'm not waiting in another line! anyway, I've also NEVER been in there when it isn't crowded. but, we still seem to end up there. it's not bad food, but I've never had anything stand out there either.

I'm with you, I prefer to eat things a little different than the average burger and stuff...

Friars nook does sound good, but probably will be closed with my luck... I think I also saw some cafe that was Alice themed? I need to look it up. Anyway, thanks for the input as always!

 

[Denovagirl]

I loved that taco bowl!! I don't know if i was just starving, or it was really that great, but I couldn't get enough!! we haven't tried sleepy hollow, but those waffle sandwiches sound delicious!! the other QS I had on the list was the friar's nook. it's also seasonal and is kind of snacky, but it had hummus and soy milk (which the girls love) and teriyaki chicken nuggets which sounded sort of good and different. we have done cosmic ray's several times, but it always bugs me how you can only order burgers in one line, chicken in one line, etc. what if I want chicken and rich wants a burger--i'm not waiting in another line! anyway, I've also NEVER been in there when it isn't crowded. but, we still seem to end up there. it's not bad food, but I've never had anything stand out there either.

Ooop! I was wrong on Cheshire cafe! That's jut beverages and snacks... But! I'm thinking I would pay OOP for a pork shank from Gastons one night instead of doing a CS meal, like maybe our MNSSHP day, because I'll probably be partaking in all kinda of treats that night! We can always use extra CS credits along the way anyhow!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

I know everyone has already told you this, but that CM you got on the phone was not right. You should be able to check on that. I got no mail or email notification but did have a PIN when I called in. Call again, and call often, you never know!

I love all your plans! I really like the way you have it all laid out. Can I go on your trip? It looks great. I don't really have any suggestions for MK QS our favorite is Casey's but we really like hot dogs and think the fries there are amazing!

I am so excited to see the shirts you come up with and I am dying to know what costumes you all will be wearing!

 

[Denovagirl]

I know everyone has already told you this, but that CM you got on the phone was not right. You should be able to check on that. I got no mail or email notification but did have a PIN when I called in. Call again, and call often, you never know!

I love all your plans! I really like the way you have it all laid out. Can I go on your trip? It looks great. I don't really have any suggestions for MK QS our favorite is Casey's but we really like hot dogs and think the fries there are amazing!

I am so excited to see the shirts you come up with and I am dying to know what costumes you all will be wearing!

Yea, I've done the math, and I have come to terms with the fact that even if we got a 25-30% off pin code, it's still so much cheaper to stay at AoA... the ONLY way it is economical to stay at POR for us would be if dining were free the entire length of our stay, otherwise AoA it is! We talked about it a lot, and we could afford to do a mod, but really we aren't even there that much. And for the kids they will have just as much fun at AoA as they would at POR. The only thing I will miss is trying somewhere new, but my hubs and I both really loved our stay at AoA, so it's not like we would mind staying there again. Plus we already know our way around and stuff, so what the heck. When it came down to it we decided we'd rather do the cheapest option and have more $$ to spend on extras, like BBB and such...

Oh and I LOVED the Casey's fries! They were great!!

I plan to do a update with our costume ideas soon! Maybe today or tomorrow!

 

[Denovagirl]

So if you followed my last PTR then you probably already know what The Box is. If not, allow me to explain.

The Box is simply a box, placed in my room that is a catch all for things for our trip. So often, I will be out and buy random things for our trip, and I lost track of some of them the first time around, that’s when I started The Box. Now, whenever I find items for our trip I just toss them in The Box and I know where it will all be when it comes time for packing!

Let me introduce you to My Box!



These photos were from last trip, and here some of the items that had accumulated last time:



Dish soap (for our reusable mugs), pins, lanyards, portable fans, room décor, collapsible laundry hampers (so great) things like that…

This week I ended up purchasing the first thing I’ll be tossing in, these adorable little stickers that light up when you push them!





These are so cute! They seem rather durable too, they’re made out of some plastic. They had TONS of these at WalMart, I found them near the party section at mine, and I told the girls they could pick one! I plan to go back and buy many more; I think these would be fun to throw in the park bags to wear some nights of our trip. They were only $1!


Some other items I will be tossing back into the box that we used our last trip will be:

• The Collapsible Laundry Baskets… these things were wonderful on our trip, they took like no space in our suitcase and they really help confine all our dirty clothes to one spot! And on our last day I was able to just walk down and wash all our stuff so we came home without having to do laundry!
• Laundry detergent… Target sells some little travel packs I like of Tide Pods, they were perfect for our trip.
• Sharpies… gotta have ‘em!
• Pins… I have already ordered some!
• Bandaids/Mole Skin… self-explanatory with 10+ miles of walking a day!

Is there certain items you guys ALWAYS have to take with you to Disney?

 

[Denovagirl]

I thought I take the time to talk about some things that did NOT work for us last time. These are things I either want to improve or just nix altogether.

Two words for you… Tinkerbell Gifts.

​

Yeah, I know, these are awesome and definitely add some magic to your stay, but I busted my butt last time gathering and assembling goody bags to leave the kids each night, along with a personalized letter from a character and when it came down to it our room was overrun with small little toys and I forgot to put the gifts out on several nights due to exhaustion!!

I think it was just definitely not for me, not to mention all the random stuff I packed like that ended up taking a FULL suitcase!!

Also not taking: Welcome Baskets!



These were GREAT for our first trip! Loved the surprise for the girls, but again, a pain to do myself, or pricey to have done for you. I figure the first time warrants some extra pixie dust, this time we will go without it.

Not doing: Ordering groceries…



This wasn’t a bad experience or anything; we just ended up not really using most of what we bought. We will probably still ship a case of bottled waters to ourselves via amazon, and then take a couple boxes of breakfast bars and maybe goldfish or something. Really it was easier to just buy food there for us. I hated having to carry an extra bag for snacks and waters. Or we may end up just skipping the bottled water and just get free ice water…who knows… or if I can come up with an easier way of wrangling our mugs, we can just use our mugs to fill with water from the fountains. Those mugs were a pain in the butt to carry around, but then again we had 7 last time! This time will be just 4… and it was a pain to take them down to breakfast and then walk ALL THE WAY BACK to our room, so maybe we will just keep them with us? What do you guys prefer to do?

Not doing: EMH’s!

We didn’t hit any EMH’s on our last trip and it worked wonderfully, we didn’t have to get up even earlier, and we missed all the crowds. If you’ve read the Unofficial Guide to WDW then you know that generally the parks with EMH’s end up being where people flock too. True, getting there early for them allows you extra time to ride rides with little to no wait, but even people who don’t get up early enough to take advantage still tend to go to the parks with EMH’s…isn’t that weird? It doesn’t really matter much with the low crowd levels we should have anyway, but I really just hate getting up earlier… if I am going to a park I am getting there at rope drop, so it’s better if it’s not at 8am for me… although I believe this trip we will hit early morning EMH’s one time if our schedule doesn’t change, so we will give it a try. Night time EMH’s do seem fun though! I would try them if it happened to fall on a day I’d be in that park, but I just won’t go out of my way to book them.

Not doing: Failing to plan any meals!!

The ONE meal I didn’t have a plan for last time ended up being our Disney Meltdown tip-off…. I think for my family we just function better with some sort of plan. Even if we don’t stick to it, it’s nice to have. That way if we are hot and irritable no one had to think, we just go with the plan. It works well for our group! Also, I like having meals planned, even CS, because I want to try all the unique places, I don’t want to end up with a hamburger when I could be trying an awesome fresh sandwich from BOG for instance.

This time around I am trying to be a little simpler. Less stuff to pack and keep track of will suit us better in our small group. So any ideas to do that will be helpful!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

Oh, the box! We do something similar at our house. Its called "the chair in our bedroom"! for some reason all the bits and pieces just tend to accumulate there. (For example, stuff from out last trip that I haven't put away yet--dinner photos, my birthday button, etc--are there now)

Those light up badges are cute! Great idea!

Stuff we always take to Disney--dollar store glow sticks. We don't always use them but I'm always glad we have them. Last time we used them to occupy the girls while we waited for dinner. One time we shared them with some other kids. They don't take up much room, are cheap, and always seem to come In handy. Then, stuff you probably take too--band aids, small packs of wipes, and ear plugs. We haven't actually used the earplugs since we've never made it until fireworks but a friend mentioned it made her kids happier watching fireworks since they knew it wouldn't be so loud and I thought that was a good idea.

I like your what not to do list. I think we'd be awesome travel buddies! We didn't order groceries because I just knew we wouldn't end up using them. I didn't do tinkerbell gifts because they had so much stuff last time it was too hard to pack it all up and they didn't play with half of it. And we only did EMHs once and that was because we had a reservation at pirates league.

And those mugs--our first trip with them, DH would always run them back to the room or we'd stick them in the diaper bag for the day. This trip we didn't even pick them up until the second park day. We barely used them and we never took them to the parks. We used them more at night when we got back for a drink before bed and even then, I just used mine for water in the room. I think rich went once or twice to get a soda but mostly he had coffee in the room and the girls had water too. They're nice, but sort of a pain. I guess my advice would be, if you have a stroller again, take them. We could always rig up somewhere to put 4 on our first trip--in the cup holder and balanced in the diaper bag with our stuff. If you're not using a stroller, leave them in the room if you can.

 

[Denovagirl]

Oh, the box! We do something similar at our house. Its called "the chair in our bedroom"! for some reason all the bits and pieces just tend to accumulate there. (For example, stuff from out last trip that I haven't put away yet--dinner photos, my birthday button, etc--are there now) Those light up badges are cute! Great idea! Stuff we always take to Disney--dollar store glow sticks. We don't always use them but I'm always glad we have them. Last time we used them to occupy the girls while we waited for dinner. One time we shared them with some other kids. They don't take up much room, are cheap, and always seem to come In handy. Then, stuff you probably take too--band aids, small packs of wipes, and ear plugs. We haven't actually used the earplugs since we've never made it until fireworks but a friend mentioned it made her kids happier watching fireworks since they knew it wouldn't be so loud and I thought that was a good idea. I like your what not to do list. I think we'd be awesome travel buddies! We didn't order groceries because I just knew we wouldn't end up using them. I didn't do tinkerbell gifts because they had so much stuff last time it was too hard to pack it all up and they didn't play with half of it. And we only did EMHs once and that was because we had a reservation at pirates league. And those mugs--our first trip with them, DH would always run them back to the room or we'd stick them in the diaper bag for the day. This trip we didn't even pick them up until the second park day. We barely used them and we never took them to the parks. We used them more at night when we got back for a drink before bed and even then, I just used mine for water in the room. I think rich went once or twice to get a soda but mostly he had coffee in the room and the girls had water too. They're nice, but sort of a pain. I guess my advice would be, if you have a stroller again, take them. We could always rig up somewhere to put 4 on our first trip--in the cup holder and balanced in the diaper bag with our stuff. If you're not using a stroller, leave them in the room if you can.

Bahaha! Too funny! Our box is located on the chair in our bedroom! Same thing! Lol...

I agree, we WOULD be good travel buddies! I agree with everything you said!

I'm thinking on the mugs maybe I can bring this giant hook thing that clips on my stroller, it's called "the mommy hook" I believe and maybe I can just hook them on there... At least they won't be rolling around in the stroller basket and at the end of the night when we get on the bus we can just grab the hook! We liked out mugs to eat breakfast with and then to take a coffee to go on the way to the parks, it was just a hassle when everyone threw them in the stroller afterwards!

 

[spiritsim]

I have a giant carabenio that I plan on taking so I can hook our mugs on the stroller with it or my husbands evc. I got it in the pet department at walmart it's for holding more than one dog leash at a time but I use it for everything......lol Just a thought.

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Great info! Isn't it amazing how much you learn each trip?
I have a Disney box too! I just got tons of Sofia and Doc stickers, coloring books etc at Target in the $ spot yesterday, you may want to check it out.

I don't blame you for not wanting to do Tinkerbell gifts again. Seems like a lot of work for Mommy, but doesn't everything? This Mommy has trouble remembering things like that especially when she is sleepy. I am dreading the day when I have to actually do elf on the shelf!

We always take our mugs everywhere. We store them in the basket of the stroller. We love using them. My DH drinks a lot! So we get our money's worth for sure! I think having 4 will be manageable for you to take them along with you.

 

[DMGeurts]

I have the "Disney Box" too... Well, technically - it's my suitcase - which stays on the hassock in our bedroom... However - DD deciced to use my suitcase a couple months ago for a school trip she went on... So, she just DUMPED IT OUT on my hassock... and I have yet to put it all back together again. I really NEED to do it - because it's driving me crazy that everything it out of sorts. Sigh.

About the mugs - I hate them too. What I did last time - it worked out really, really well... I took regular cheap sponges, cut them up into smaller pieces, got them a bit wet and squirted some dishsoap on to them - then I let them dry, put them in a ziplock baggie and brought them with. Every night, I took out a new one, got it wet and it was nice and soapy to clean our mugs with.

As for getting water... The water out of the water fountains in Disney tastes horrible - HORRIBLE. But if you get the free ice water from anywhere that has fountain soda... It's much better - not great - but better. That is what we did. I hated carrying the mugs around with us - usually we didn't. Our morning routine is me getting up, going down to get breakfast for the family, filling the mugs, then waking them to eat when I got back to the room... That way, we were never left with mugs to carry around with us. It worked out really well.

I do tend to bring a few snacks in our luggage, but I've never ordered groceries from anywhere... I have heard that people just don't eat them. We have been OK with the few snacks we bring with - and to be honest, most of them come back home with us too.



D~

 

[Chicago Mo]

ohhhhhhhhhhh love packing posts!!!

Like everyone else i too have "the Box" well actually 2. One for dumping stuff in for packing.. The other one is for our Memories.. I have EVERYTHING in there from past trips.. Like every piece of mail Disney has ever sent. all the fun stuff we got from the "in room celebration" we did. buttons, the stationary from the rooms.. even the stickers they put on your luggage. it has a mickey head on IT!!! I had to keep it.

The box: pins for trading, moleskin is a MUST like D i also have the sponge with dish soap. Purex laundry sheet things to do laundry HUGE binder clips to hang wet clothes, huge ziplock bags to carry things on the wet rides like my CAMERA!!! or add wet socks (cannot let wet clothes touch stuff!!! LOL) GUM!!! cheap table cloth to put down on the concrete fro parades.. There is a really awesome thread called : What is your not so normal item to pack, which is helpful while at WDW ?
Looking into cool max socks to help!

I LOVE packing!!! means we are leaving... and soon..

 

[sweetpeaandevie]

Hahahaha, almost EVERYTHING on your not to do list is stuff that we ARE doing!!! In our defense, it is our first trip, and we have been planning for soooooooo long.....we have a closet, not a box!!!!! Good thing we are taking a conversion van

i was just looking at those light up buttons at walmart yesterday!! I think we will be seeing a lot of those around at WDW! They are just so cute, and $1, YES PLEASE!!!

We have slightly changed our plans again, so I will have to compare again...

 

[Denovagirl]

I have a giant carabenio that I plan on taking so I can hook our mugs on the stroller with it or my husbands evc. I got it in the pet department at walmart it's for holding more than one dog leash at a time but I use it for everything......lol Just a thought.

That's what the mommy hook is!!! I love that thing!

Great info! Isn't it amazing how much you learn each trip?
I have a Disney box too! I just got tons of Sofia and Doc stickers, coloring books etc at Target in the $ spot yesterday, you may want to check it out.

I don't blame you for not wanting to do Tinkerbell gifts again. Seems like a lot of work for Mommy, but doesn't everything? This Mommy has trouble remembering things like that especially when she is sleepy. I am dreading the day when I have to actually do elf on the shelf!

We always take our mugs everywhere. We store them in the basket of the stroller. We love using them. My DH drinks a lot! So we get our money's worth for sure! I think having 4 will be manageable for you to take them along with you.

I will have to check out target! Thanks! And you are dead on with the Tinkerbell gifts! LoL! I think we will take our mugs this time, at least so we can grab coffee on our way out and just use the big hook to keep them all together!

I have the "Disney Box" too... Well, technically - it's my suitcase - which stays on the hassock in our bedroom... However - DD deciced to use my suitcase a couple months ago for a school trip she went on... So, she just DUMPED IT OUT on my hassock... and I have yet to put it all back together again. I really NEED to do it - because it's driving me crazy that everything it out of sorts. Sigh.

About the mugs - I hate them too. What I did last time - it worked out really, really well... I took regular cheap sponges, cut them up into smaller pieces, got them a bit wet and squirted some dishsoap on to them - then I let them dry, put them in a ziplock baggie and brought them with. Every night, I took out a new one, got it wet and it was nice and soapy to clean our mugs with.

As for getting water... The water out of the water fountains in Disney tastes horrible - HORRIBLE. But if you get the free ice water from anywhere that has fountain soda... It's much better - not great - but better. That is what we did. I hated carrying the mugs around with us - usually we didn't. Our morning routine is me getting up, going down to get breakfast for the family, filling the mugs, then waking them to eat when I got back to the room... That way, we were never left with mugs to carry around with us. It worked out really well.

I do tend to bring a few snacks in our luggage, but I've never ordered groceries from anywhere... I have heard that people just don't eat them. We have been OK with the few snacks we bring with - and to be honest, most of them come back home with us too.



D~

A suitcase! That's brilliant because you can zip it up! My little one is already digging in the box, so that's a great idea! I think I will use it!!

Ugh, those mugs. I think we will take them with us this time just so we can grab our coffee to go when we are leaving the resort, the LM rooms at AoA are the furthest away from the main building so its a pain to walk back, I am thinking with my big hook thing I can at least keep them together and out of the way. I doubt we will refill them at the park, the water is kinda bleh if you're not used to it!

We brought back a LOT of snacks, I am def taking MUCH less this time. Just a few!!

ohhhhhhhhhhh love packing posts!!!

Like everyone else i too have "the Box" well actually 2. One for dumping stuff in for packing.. The other one is for our Memories.. I have EVERYTHING in there from past trips.. Like every piece of mail Disney has ever sent. all the fun stuff we got from the "in room celebration" we did. buttons, the stationary from the rooms.. even the stickers they put on your luggage. it has a mickey head on IT!!! I had to keep it.

The box: pins for trading, moleskin is a MUST like D i also have the sponge with dish soap. Purex laundry sheet things to do laundry HUGE binder clips to hang wet clothes, huge ziplock bags to carry things on the wet rides like my CAMERA!!! or add wet socks (cannot let wet clothes touch stuff!!! LOL) GUM!!! cheap table cloth to put down on the concrete fro parades.. There is a really awesome thread called : What is your not so normal item to pack, which is helpful while at WDW ?
Looking into cool max socks to help!

I LOVE packing!!! means we are leaving... and soon..

I agree, I love packing!!!! I like your idea of 2 boxes, we have a lot of Disney keepsakes from our first trip, I am thinking I will go look around at the craft store for a fun wooden box with a lid that is big, maybe like a treasure chest type and paint it up cute for Disney and we can keep all our little momentos and photos in there too! I love all the inspiration I get on the Dis! Thanks!!!

Hahahaha, almost EVERYTHING on your not to do list is stuff that we ARE doing!!! In our defense, it is our first trip, and we have been planning for soooooooo long.....we have a closet, not a box!!!!! Good thing we are taking a conversion van

i was just looking at those light up buttons at walmart yesterday!! I think we will be seeing a lot of those around at WDW! They are just so cute, and $1, YES PLEASE!!!

We have slightly changed our plans again, so I will have to compare again...

That's funny. But it's what you need to do on your first trip! You kinda gotta try everything and see what works for your own family!!! None of that list were things that we straight up disliked, all the things were pretty great actually, it just this time around I don't feel the need for all the little extra gifts and things, and we had more stuff than we knew what to do with last trip! LoL!!! But it did help make our first trip magnificent!!

 

[Denovagirl]

This is going to be a fun post! I had a really super-awesome day today with the fam, which included a stop at the local Disney store because they had an awesome sale I wanted to take advantage of and when we got home we had a pretty neat piece of mail as well.

First up, the mail!!

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Last trip Olivia got a bag like this that was in her welcome basket that included the pen and personalized Autograph book, it was a red & white dot Minnie pattern, this time I let her pick out her own! So, of course, she chose a Frozen one because the girl is OBSESSED with that movie. Seriously, she takes every opportunity to perform full-fledged concerts for people, singing the Frozen songs! She can’t wait to meet Anna & Elsa at Disney, I hope they still have them out come October! I’m thinking they will HAVE to with how popular they’ve become!!

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So onto our Disney store adventure!!

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Olivia loves this magical mirror, if you wave one of the princess wands in front of it, it talks!!

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Maddie was enjoying checking out the toys…

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And both girls were loving that they were playing the Frozen soundtrack!! I loved the adorable Valentines window décor!!

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Anyway the reason we went in was this!

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Buy 1 plush get one for $1!!! I needed a certain plush, so why not get another for $1?!?!?

We ended up buying…

Well, Chris found this Iron Man tee for $3.99

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I found a Perry tee for $4.99

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Plus we found these Duffy’s on clearance!!! The taller one is the 17 inch one, which is the one that goes with all the outfits that you can buy at Disney, and he was $9.99…and then the other is the medium sized one (they only had one big one…darn) and he’s 12 inches and was $7.99 but I got him for $1 because the plush sale worked for clearance too!! Score!!

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And finally the reason we went to the store was to get a Stuffy plush and we got the Lambie for $1….

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So why did we need the Stuffy, you may be wondering????

Well……………….

Our Halloween Costumes Are Going To Be Doc McStuffins!!!!!!!

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You heard me! We love the idea of doing a family theme, and the girls are at that Disney Junior stage so we figured this would be fun! The whole family had talked it over and we’ve decided:

Olivia will be Doc!

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We will probably pick up the Doc dress up set form Target, it had the little doctors coat and everything, then we just need to get some pink sparkle shoes and tights, should be pretty easy to pull together! She will be holding Stuffy in her pocket, hence the need for him!! (We were one short of having the whole crew…)

Maddie will be Lambie!

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Lamb costumes are pretty easy to come by! I just need to add a little pink skirt/tutu and bow!

I will be Hallie!

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I plan to find a similar apron and I have already found some red winged glasses, I need to figure out how to make a nurse hat though, or buy one! Plus, I figure I may make some hippo ears??

Chris will be Chilly!

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It was either Chilly or Stuffy for him and we figured a Chilly costume would be easier to assemble. Just a black top hat, a white shirt with buttons, and a scarf! Easy peasy!

So tell me what you think!!!!????!!!!! Like it???!!!?!?

All in all it was an eventful and fun day! I am so excited!!!

 

[Denovagirl]

Subbing in! I read your current TR today and was happy to find that you were beginning another trip! Your DDs are so cute!

I just noticed your trip is pretty close!!! What are your plans?!!! I love hearing about people Disney plans!!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

OH MY GOSH!!! (You can't hear me, but I totally just singsonged that out loud!) I LOVE the family costume idea! I hope you post lots of pics! And I think you should totally have hippo ears--how stinkin cute would that be?!?

Our girls are in love with that mirror at the Disney store too! Looks like a successful trip--but really, what trip to the Disney store isn't good?

Oh--just wanted to add--I saw on kennythepirate.com that Anna and Elsa aren't leaving the parks anytime soon. They may move to a different location or to Hollywood but they'll be there for quite awhile. And how much will they love Olivia's bag and book?!?