WDW 9/09~My MNSSHP-30th Birthday Celebration!

[jacksmomma]

I cannot believe it, but I am finally meeting up with the mouse on my birthday! Contrary to popular belief, this trip was planned before the 2009 promo was announced. Actually I have been wanting to do this since I was a kid. Last year DH celebrated his birthday in MK on the first day of our trip and had a great time...I must admit, I was beyond jealous!

We are really early into the planning stages thus far. Basically the only thing we know for sure is that we are going and will be attending the MNSSHP on Sat. 9/26 (provided there is one). That will be my luck, the current economic status will force Disney to scale back and there will be no MNSSHP that day next year!

So far the cast of characters includes:
DH, He was made a Disney fan when we got married. He did not understand all the hype until our WDW honeymoon, after that he was hooked. He is looking forward to having a Mickey bar in front of the castle and riding the Jungle Cruise multiple times (yes, he is as cheesy at the JC skippers! ). He is hoping for free dining.

DS, He will be a little over 3 at the time of our trip. His first trip he was 18 months old. He loves Donald Duck! (That is his Halloween costume for this year, cross your fingers that DH has no problems returning the expensive banana costume from Pottery Barn kids I bought before DS made up his mind!) I am sure he is looking forward to riding Dumbo, meeting the Duck again, oh and seeing Off Kilter in Epcot!

Me, I am the resident hippie , vegetarian, and I am beyond excited! I am looking forward to spending my special day in the most magical place on Earth. After all, you do not have to grow up in Disney, so turning 30 will not make me feel old at all! I am looking forward to seeing the mouse again (it never gets old) and having a fun day. I am really excited about my first MNSSHP! I am hoping for a code, cross your fingers for me!

The next update...Where to stay?...

 

[jacksmomma]

Hello All!

You know that place at night where you are not really asleep, but not awake either? The place where you cannot move or open your eyes, but you are still capable of independent thought? It was in that sleepy stuper that I decided to play Disney trivia with DH. I must admit he did great. He answered every question correctly and only paused on a few...
1. Who is my favorite Princess?~Snow White
2. Who is my favorite Prince?~Eric
3. Who are my favorite dwarfs?~Doc and Sleepy
4. Who is my favorite "fuzzy" character?~Stitch
5. What is my favorite ride in WDW?~ToT
I wonder if I would have faired as well if he would have played the game with me.

I have been thinking about when our trip will actually take place. My birthday is 9/26, in 09 that is a Saturday! (Remeber in middle school when a birthday on the weekend was the best thing EVER?!) I imagine we will go down on a Wednesday or Thursday because you can typically get cheaper flights. (I could not handle a car ride from the midwest to the World! My husband would divorce me by the time we got there! ) So for now I believe the trip will be 9/23-10/1.

For this trip, I am thinking about doing something I have never done before. I think I am going to add an extra day to the trip as a rest day. I was thinking of 9/27 being the "rest day". Most likely we will not have grandparents with us this trip so I think DH and I will need some downtime from chasing the little man. What are some fun things you have done on your "down day"? I thought it would be a great time to get a meal at a resort that we are not staying in, maybe ride the monorail and explore the monorail line hotels.

Speaking of hotels...can everyone cross their fingers and toes for me that we get some sort of code?! We have been fortunate to stay at some great places on our trips. We stayed at the Yacht Club in 2004 with a business conference rate. To say that it was amazing was an understatement! We had a great time! (Funny story: My siblings are MUCH younger than I am. They were born when I was in high school. They had never been to WDW, so when DH had to go for that conference in 04 we took them with us. They are not used to anything even remotely fancy. We pulled up to the YC and their mouths fell open. As the bellhops were helping with luggage my sister (12) got a funny look on her face. I asked what was wrong. She said,"You said we were staying at the Yacht Club, why are we at the Yotch Club." It was beyond funny! The bellhop turned away from us so he could laugh! ) I do not think we will be at the Yotch Club this time around! I would love to stay somewhere we have not stayed, unless we have to stay at a value. IMO, for a value you cannot beat the Pop. Can anyone tell me more about your favorite MOD resort? Of course in my dream world I would stay at the Contempory. Every since I was little I have dreamed of staying there. Why?...who knows. I think I just like the monorail going through it.

I better go...until next time

 

[jacksmomma]

How on Earth do you make the time pass while waiting for your trip?! I have such a long wait ahead of me! Oh well, at least we are going. Maybe I can get the creative juices flowing on shirts and things to take with us, that certainly worked last time.

In June I went to the World with my Mom and sister. My sis was dancing in the MK as part of the Magic Music Days. This was the first trip I made shirts for. They came out great! I did some iron-ons and some tie dye. Here are pics...

My only problem with the shirts were with the iron-on ones. After they were washed the color faded really badly. I am going to have to venture over to the creative DISigners board and see if they have any solutions. I love the tie dye ones. They still look great! I will definately be doing these for DH and DS for this trip...if I can get DH to wear tie dye. I will just have to not give him a choice!

 

[jacksmomma]

It has been a while since I have posted...nothing major to update with, although I am thinking that I should call Disney. I have been very lucky over the past week, maybe some of that can hit Disney too!

We went to a baby expo this weekend. I got a free gift bag with tons of coupons, we won a carseat, and I just got an email stating that I won a $125 gift certificate to a local portrait studio...yay me! The photographers come to your location to take pictures so I am scouring my city for a great location. I am so excited! I would love to find one of those old mansions that is decorated for the holidays for the photo. I wonder if I can arrange that?!

Speaking of photos...I am so excited that Disney is expanding their photopass family shoot program. I think we are going to do some shots at the Poly. Anyone who has done this, please share some of your favorite poses.

Until we meet again...

 

[jacksmomma]

I just found out that my in-laws are going to Disney in Jan with my SIL, BIL, and their kids. My annual pass is good until Feb....Hmmm. Could we sneak in a small trip before the pass expires? Before I even thought of party crashish I made sure that my SIL did not care. I would hate to ruin their family time. She said she did not care in the least. Now, lets look at the logistics of this plan...

1. Time off work

2. Flights...Flights look to be about $179 round trip, not too bad. We would need 3 (hopefully I can get a child discount for one of those). I would love for the in-laws to buy us flights instead of spending lots of money on stuff we do not need or will not use, but that kind of thing in not my MIL's style. Darn!

3. Room...I got an email that we can get value room rates for $49 a night. The in-laws will most likely stay at POFQ, but for the $200 difference I think we can stay at the POP just fine.

4. Park passes I still have an annual pass that is good until 2/6. DH would need to get a park hopper, but beyond that we are set.


Could this really happen?! I loved out trip last year at this time. The waits were almost non-existant. The weather was great, it was just a lot of fun.

Cross your fingers and toes for me! I hope this happens!