We must be mad!

[beyondblessed]

INTRODUCTION

Well, here we are 3 days before our trip and beginning to wonder if we are mad (as in crazy). I hope that you will follow along as this crazy train departs!

WHEN: November 18-24, 2013

WHERE: Polynesian

WHO: Me, my best friend and our 5 kids (You see...5 kids + 0 husbands = crazy)

WHY: I'm an authorized Disney vacation planner on the side and my agency had a contest last year. Whoever had the most Disney sales between 10/01/12 and 06/01/13 won a free trip. Well the girl who NEVER wins anything (ME) won!!! I can still hardly believe it. My husband recently took a new job as an administrator at our high school and also started grad school so there was no possibility of him being able to go for the next two years. I would have been patient but he insisted I ask my best friend to go. He must be crazy too! So, with his encouragement I asked and she said YES (actually HELL YES ). I'll talk more about her below. We upgraded and extended the free trip a bit and hope we have planned the perfect trip.

THE CAST:

NIKKY (Me) - I'm cheating and copying most of this from a previous trip report. My greatest blessings are my sweet husband, Travis and our 3 children: Hayley (17), Caya (8) & Jack (2). I'm a Systems Engineer within the Decision Support Services Department at our local hospital. I love my job but I am no career woman...I am simply a Mom that has a career. I'm also a Disney Vacation Planner in my spare time. This is how I survive my Disney addiction between trips as well as how I fund my vacations! I'm involved with the high school Booster Club and the grade school PTO. I love to travel and enjoy the planning just as much as the traveling. I have been to Disney around 20 times. My Dad was a workaholic but when we went on vacation, WE WENT ON VACATION! No expense was spared at Disney. We always stayed Lagoon View/Club Level at Polynesian (my parents really enjoyed their time at the resort) and some of my happiest memories are there. I lost my Dad in 2009 and I think that is why Poly still calls me back. One day I hope to splurge and stay Lagoon View/Club Level again but for now, we will enjoy just staying in a Standard Room. Not like you can be slumming it anywhere on Disney!


(Sorry...just had to take this pic, don't have any of myself on my PC...and I sure did where my Going to Disney shirt to my last day of work, mostly to annoy my co-workers who think I go overboard for Disney)

NICHOLE - My best friend since the age of 3. That sounds like such a simple statement but she is truly the BEST FRIEND I could ever ask for. Growing up, she always came to Disney with me and my parents so I'd have someone my age to be with. We have probably been together 6 or 7 times. She shares my love of Disney and Poly so when we knew we were going together we knew we HAD to stay at Poly. My Dad wouldn't want it any other way! She is a nurse at the same hospital I work at. Her Mom is my Godmother, she is my daughter's Godmother and I am her daughter's. We are much more like sisters than friends. Her husband is just as amazing as mine...nothing but excitement and encouragement for us to enjoy this trip together.



(She's going to kill me for this one but it's all I have at the moment...we decided to get very ambitious and sew skirts for our girls...neither of us have sewed since 7th grade Home Ec. Thank GOD for my Mom and her sewing machine!)

HAYLEY - My oldest princess, she just turned 17. This girl is gorgeous and has NO IDEA!!! She's just as beautiful on the inside. She is a senior this year! boohoo She's a cheerleader, golfer and runner and also an FFA Officer. She has gotten absolutely everything out of high school one possibly could and loved every second of it. She's actually the only senior I know of who wants another year of high school. She's been going to Disney since she was one and loves it almost as much as her Mom. She got to cheer in the ABC Christmas Day parade taped at Magic Kingdom last year. It was an awesome experience and her and I got to have a special Mom/Daughter trip to Disney. I hope I get to do that with my other two one day also.



CAYA (on right) - My little firecracker! She will turn 9 the day we go to Disney. She shares her birthday with Mickey and Minnie and is super excited to spend it with them at Disney World. She's a tiny little thing but there is a whole lot of personality in the little body. And attitude...we like to call her Princess Boss! She's in 3rd grade and just loves being a kid. She does golf, softball, swim team and cheer and aims to be just like her big sister!

JACK (on left) - Jack is 2 and the boy I didn't think I wanted. I really thought we would have only girls and was shocked to find out he was a boy. I had no idea what I would do with a boy, especially if he didn't like sports. Neither my husband or I are into other "boy" things like hunting, fishing, super heroes, etc. Well let me just tell you, this boy came into the world and stole my heart! I couldn't love him more and I can't imagine my life without my little boy in it. It's still yet to be determined if he will like baseball or star wars but it doesn't matter...we'll figure it out when we get there. For now, his love is Woody! And if he could be Woody in real life, he would. I can't wait to see him see Woody!!! This will be Jack's 2nd trip but he had just turned one on the first trip so he has no idea what he's in for!



ISABELLA & ANDREW - Bella is 9 and Andrew is 7. These are Nichole's adorable children who I love like they were my niece and nephew. They actually call me Aunt Nikky. This will be there 3rd trip to Disney. Bella loves the princesses and Andrew loves Star Wars (maybe he can teach about it).



So, there are the basics! I'm excited to share our trip with you and I feel so unbelievably blessed to have the opportunity to be a kid again with my best friend and our kids.

TRIP REPORT INDEX
REVEAL PARTY
DISNEY CRAFTING
DISNEY MAIL
HOMEWORK ACADEMY
DISNEY EVE
AIRPORT ADVENTURES
GETTING THERE
MAGIC MONDAY AT MAGIC KINGDOM
MAGIC MONDAY AT MAGIC KINGDOM - AFTERNOON
MAGIC MONDAY - EVENING & OUR ROOM
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 19th - MAIN STREET & FANTASYLAND

 

[beyondblessed]

Hmmmm, anyone know how to make my pictures smaller! Kind of scary seeing a lifesize me glaring back at myself!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHH

 

[beyondblessed]

REVEAL PARTY

We waited as long as we possibly could to tell the kids but did want them to enjoy a bit of the planning with us so we told them in September with about 2 months to spare. We tried to derive this elaborate plan but ultimately decided we just needed to do it. Caya, Jack and I drove up to Nichole's and had pizza with her family. After dinner, we played a quick game of Disney Headbands. On round 4 we put card in their headbands with their name that said "You're going to Disney World". It took them a minute to realize it meant they were all going and not just the person they were looking at. There was a lot of hugging, jumping and screaming and the planning frenzy began that very moment. (Hayley knew all along and was actually home sick they night we told them!)









UP NEXT: DISNEY CRAFTING

 

[wiigirl]

Following along!

 

[beyondblessed]

DISNEY CRAFTING

I don't know what it is but something about a Disney trip brings out my craftiness!

We made countdown chains at 60 days:



I love to see it get shorter and shorter!



Next were the button shirts I thought would be a piece of cake:





And then there are the skirts that we thought we would SEW...with a machine!!! Neither of us have sewn since 7th grade Home Ec. Thank God for my Momma...she was an angel helping us finish them!




UP NEXT: DISNEY MAIL

 

[beyondblessed]

Yay! A follower! Welcome Wiigirl! I love your signature quote. That was actually the name of my first trip report!

 

[beyondblessed]

DISNEY MAIL

I LOVE all the extra mail and shopping preparing for a "proper" Disney trip involves.

We are thrilled to be trying out the new Magic Bands!





And I want to jump up and down in the street when I come home to a mailbox full of packages that I know hold Disney stuff!



UP NEXT: HOMEWORK ACADEMY

 

[Buntington]

Joining in! Love the idea of a reveal party for the kids. The crafts are adorable too. Now I have a hankering to do a Disney theme night even though we don't have any upcoming trips planned...

I'm sorry to hear about your dad. All of the WDW hotels are lovely, but it's funny how attached we get to the ones associated with childhood memories. My grandma and I mostly stayed at WL once it was built, so that's the only place I want to stay now, even though I like to visit the others for meals!

 

[beyondblessed]

Yay! Another follower! )

You should totally do a Disney Theme Night. I wish we would have had more time to do some before our trip. I think I will try to keep the magic alive with a few after we are home.

I'm so glad you understand my resort love and loyalty!!! )

 

[beyondblessed]

HOMEWORK ACADEMY

These next posts won't be pretty as I'm doing them from my phone but I want to keep updating a little just before and during our trip.

This morning was Homework Academy. I went and got Bella and Andrew and brought them back to my house so the kids could try to knock out all of there homework/make up work before our trip. It went well but Hayley (17 yr old) and my husband went to the school to study because the couldn't concentrate with the kids!

It was the perfect gloomy day to get this done!

UP NEXT: DISNEY EVE

 

[kimbo0569]

Can't wait to read more!

 

[beyondblessed]

DISNEY EVE

I had hoped to post a bit more of my preparations before our trip kicked off but we had a hiccup, to say the least. Saturday, after homework academy, I got a pedicure and then we attended the scrimmage game at the high school. My husband is the AD so he needed to be there and my oldest daughter cheers.





I had all the laundry done and planned to pack all day Sunday. Monday was our middle daughters birthday but we decided to celebrate on Sunday since Daddy was missing out on this trip and wouldn't see her on Monday. I got the kids clothes in zip-locs Sunday morning and drug about everything else out to the dining room before we headed into town for Caya's birthday lunch at Outback (her pick). Just as we were finishing up lunch, my sister in law called to tell us that the town she and many of our friends live in about 7 miles from our town was hit BAD by a tornado. We had them box up our desserts (no appetite after that news) and ran to the car. I couldn't get a hold of one of my best friends so I was freaking out. We went to Trav's Dad's farm first to make sure he was okay. He lost a barn and had a little damage to house. The house that they all grew up in around the corner but on the same square mile was GONE. Completely leveled! While there I finally got a text from my friend saying they were all okay but they had lost their house. We hopped in the car and went to help...it was crazy trying to get there. Power lines down everywhere and debris, like corn cribs and silos blocking roads. Once we finally got there, we had to park on the edge of town and walk about a mile to her house. I have never needed to hug someone as much as I did right then. We found every basket, bag and tub we could and filled them with anything we could salvage. It was probably about 3 when we started and it is dark by 5 so we didn't have much time. We loaded up several trucks and got out while we could. It was really, really hard leaving knowing what I was leaving behind.

We probably got home about 8 and I started packing as fast as I could.







I finished up right at midnight and hopped in the shower. I guess since its after midnight, its officially Disney Day but I'll start that in another post!

UP NEXT: AIRPORT ADVENTURES

 

[Britard]

I am joining in too!! Loved catching up on the prep-your children are all adorable!

I also have a best friend that is like my sister (we have known each other since age 8, so you have a little more time on us).

Can't wait to see more!

 

[kimbo0569]

So sorry to hear about all those affected by the tornadoes. Watching it on the news was awful enough, seeing it in reality, I can only imagine what it must be like. Prayers going out to all!

 

[beyondblessed]

Welcome Britard! Look at ALL your trips! Lucky!!!! Thank you for the compliment about my kids. Isn't is awesome having a best friend/sister! I seriously can't imagine life without her...she is like my "safe place" to fall. Always there, no matter what and always has been!

Thanks for the prayers Kimbo! That really means a lot and they really need them!

 

[beyondblessed]

AIRPORT ADVENTURES

So we left off with me hopping in the shower just at midnight. I got ready quickly and loaded up the car before waking the kids. We left our house shortly after 1:00am and headed to Nichole’s, about 10 min away. My kids were all wide awake by the time we got there. We loaded her stuff and kids and set off on our journey at 1:33am.





I wish I would have gotten a better picture of how packed my minivan was!  We had the three middle kids (Caya, Isabella & Andrew) in the back row, Hayley and Jack in the middle seat and me and Nichole up front. We also squeezed 5 suitcases, 6 backpacks and a stroller in there. The pic below is of Nichole cleaning up Jack after he puked. No idea what happened?!?! He wasn’t sick and never got sick. THANK GOD she’s a nurse…that stuff doesn’t get to her at all.



It was an uneventful trip (which is good when you’re driving 2 hours to the airport). I had Monsters University playing in the DVD player and brought chocolate milk and donuts for the kids to eat on the way. I brought Nichole and I a bag of combos. It was kind of a joke but when we were little, we’d always buy a bag of combos and a coke to share before getting on Wedway Peoplemover (aka Tomorrowland Transit Authority). It was a little nap during a busy day and kind of became a tradition for us.

We arrived at the airport at about 5:30am Indy time (we lost an hour driving over). We parked in the Economy lot ($9 per day) but well lit and virtually no wait for a shuttle either way. We boarded the little shuttle…with 5 kids, 5 suitcases and a stroller you can imagine what an ordeal that is. Luckily for us, there was a very nice man on board that had us hand him the suitcases and he stacked them for us…and got them off for us at the other end.







We checked in at the Air Tran counter. We booked Southwest but it was AirTran flight. My big suitcase was 49lbs and 50lbs was the limit. Whew! Check in was easy, we got our boarding passes and seats (all toghether YAY). We headed to the restroom and then our gate. I got the gate tag for the stroller and we waited about 5 minutes before being called to board.





Jack LOVED the airplane and every other mode of transportation we got to use while on vacation.

















Jack occupied himself with his iPad and was so intrigued by the happenings on the airplane. He was a complete angel and I was so relieved. Flying with a 2 year old and without my husband was my biggest fear.

We landed a bit early, a little before 9am.





We stopped for a couple must have pictures and tried to kill a little time since we were early and weren’t sure if the limo driver would be early too. The kids had no idea about the limo and I wanted them to see the sign as we were going down the escalator.






UP NEXT: GETTING THERE

 

[beyondblessed]

GETTING THERE

Our fabulous driver Gary was there waiting!







We stopped at Publix for our free 15 minute grocery stop. It was nice to be able to pick up a case of water and some pop tarts for breakfast. Nichole and I left Hayley with all the kids and when we got back this is what we found:



Before we knew it we were going under the most beautiful arch in the world!!!



This is the kids getting excited…check out Jack’s expressions in these next two! 







Aloha! We’re home (for the next week at least)!





We were greeted at the limo with someone who just kind of oversaw the check in process for us. We got our lei’s, they made sure Bell Services got our bags loaded up and then walked us in to the check in counter. Superb customer service!!!








UP NEXT: MAGIC MONDAY AT MAGIC KINGDOM

 

[beyondblessed]

MAGIC MONDAY AT MAGIC KINGDOM

Our room wasn’t ready so we dropped our carry on’s off with Bell Services and removed a layer of clothing. It was about 85 degrees now and it was about 30 when we left home. My pictures seem to be lacking here. We hopped the monorail and road to Magic Kingdom. There is NOTHING like that first glance at the castle each trip. We were happy to see all the Christmas decorations were up and more beautiful than ever. As we got to the end of Main Street the Dream Along with Mickey show was going on so we stopped to watch the rest. I couldn’t believe how mesmerized all the kids were.







We headed to Haunted Mansion for our first ride. Everyone loved it, even Jack.





Next was It’s a Small World. It doesn’t feel like a first day without riding this one!  Jack was just sooo happy to finally be at “Dizzyworld”!





We had Fastpasses (through our Magic Bands) for Space Mountain so we headed that way. Jack fell asleep on the way…not too bad since he’d been up since 1:00am, and it was actually perfect timing since he can’t ride Space Mountain anyway. We did the rider swap for the first time this trip which worked very well for us.





After both rounds of this ride, it was not time for our Fastpass lunch at Be Our Guest. We preordered our food a few weeks ago and I was very anxious to see how this worked. When I saw the line (OH MY THAT LINE!!!) I was so glad we did. Caya really wanted to eat at Be Our Guest for her birthday and I couldn’t secure a dinner reservation so I was super excited to be able to do lunch. We checked in and were able to make a change to what we ordered (darn picky kids! Haha) and it was flawless. We chose our table and someone collected our ticket and brought our drinks. Within minutes, the rolling dinner cart rolled up with our meals on top and desserts underneath.







My meal: The quiche with salad. It was good.



Nichole’s meal: Braised Pork with mashed potatoes and green beens. It was excellent (rated so by kids as well)



Hayley got the Macaroni w/Marinara and Mozzarella. She didn’t care for it, Nichole and I both thought it was okay.



The other kids had Mickey Meatloaf with fries and peach applesauce.



The desserts were all heavenly. We split the cupcakes and loved them all. We got a lemon, 3 strawberry cheesecake and 2 chocolate mouse.









This sweet waitress saw Caya’s birthday button and stopped and serenaded her with Happy Birthday. She had a truly lovely soft sweet voice. It was precious. And we all thanked her for the magic!




UP NEXT: MAGIC MONDAY AT MAGIC KINGDOM - AFTERNOON

 

[rachel09985]

Joining in! It sounds like it was so much fun! Can't wait to read more!

 

[Turbanator]

Looks like an awesome trip. And awesome pics