We're not having a baby so let's go to Disney World. May 2009 PTR. We're HOME.

[seasideteacher]

Yeah how exciting! I love your posts. We are also going to be there around that time! But I am not sure what we are doing for mothers day, it will be our first full day in the World, prob just hit a park up early. But it is my first time as a mother, so I might try to milk something out of it lol.
I love all your old Disney pics! How fun!

 

[chicagoshannon]

Yeah how exciting! I love your posts. We are also going to be there around that time! But I am not sure what we are doing for mothers day, it will be our first full day in the World, prob just hit a park up early. But it is my first time as a mother, so I might try to milk something out of it lol.
I love all your old Disney pics! How fun!

My first Mother's Day Madeline was 6 weeks old or so. I got a haircut and highlights. Then I had to go spend the day with MIL which made my Mother's Day HORRIBLE! MIL tends to treat Madeline as HER baby. Anyway after that I told Eric never again! Last year I told Eric to make a reservation for somewhere and he didn't. We ended up at Wendy's. Man I was M.A.D! So historically it hasn't been a great day for me.

This year WILL be better. We'll be at Donald's Breakfast at Tusker house and then AK all day. Can't beat that.

 

[chicagoshannon]

I believe we went to Animal Kingdom towards the end of our trip. Expedition Everest was being built and Nemo wasn't there yet. We decided to skip Pocahantas, The Lion King, and probably the bird show.

We made it for opening ceremonies again

There would be no discovering on discovery island. It was straight to the safari for us!
We saw this guy

and this one

We then went on the trails and saw this guy

I think we then took the train over to Rafiki's

We rode the rapids and then headed over to dinoland.

We rode dinosaur ( I really don't understand why people think this is so scary. Have they made it scarier since 2004?) We also rode Primevil whirl.

We ate lunch in dinoland at whatever counter service restaurant was there. We might have gone on safari again I don't remember. I'm sure we were done not too long after noon.

We most likely hopped to another park but I don't remember where. I actually have a passporter with notes BUT we tried to sell our house last summer (to no avail don't even get me started on the housing crisis) and I packed up all the unneccesary clutter in the house.

This year I'm planning on going to Nemo and then hopefully hitting the Lion King show at about nap time. Not sure if Madeline will sleep but I figure this will be the best place.

54 days til we leave!

 

[chicagoshannon]

Time for some in depth plans:

Day 1: Travel day

We will leave somewhere between 4 and 5am. It's a Saturday so there won't be rush hour traffic thank goodness. My parents will come down the night before so all we have to do is hop in the van and go.

Around 11am we'll stop near Mamoth caves for lunch. The tour we want to go on in at noon. We'll still be on central time when we're here. The tour lasts an hour and then we'll be back on the road.

We are planning to stop just south of Atlanta for the night. We will probably have to have a dinner stop before we stop for the night. It will probably be around 9pm eastern time when we stop.

The van will be loaded with things to entertain Madeline. We'll have a dvd player, coloring books, magna doodle, sticker books, regular books and can't forget her enterouge of stuffed animals!

We'll have an overnight bag packed so twe dont' have to unload the entire van that night.

We'll probably rotate drivers every few hours. I'm still debating whether or not we can pack a lunch for this first day. Madeline is so picky. Stopping at a rest area to eat is so much more peaceful then a fast food joint. Plus Madeline would have some room to run around.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Here is the list of extra things I've gotten and where I've gotten them:

glow bracelets and necklaces- Walmart $1
poncho's - Family Dollar $1
Little Mermaid and Princess sticker books - Target $1
2 pack of clip on bubbles- Michaels $1
Princess Lanyard- Michaels $1
2 pack of roller shades for the car- Walmart $7.50


Other things I'm bringing:
swim diapers
life vest
sunscreen
sunglasses (got 3 pairs for Madeline at Target for $1 each)
Advil

I'm debating about getting a special water bottle for the parks. I saw some special sippy cups that stay cold for like 8 hours in Target the other day.

Next up day 2: On the road again!

 

[AlohaPolynesian]

Hey there! Just found your PTR. Love the old school pics - is that Alice's REAL HAIR? Like, not a plasticy looking wig?

Your little girl is so cute and I love the pics from the zoo! What zoo is that? I go to school in Chicago right my the Lincoln Park Zoo and my friend worked at the Brookfield Zoo for a summer.

It's so depressing here today - I can't wait for Disney and I'm sure you can't either!

 

[chicagoshannon]

Hey there! Just found your PTR. Love the old school pics - is that Alice's REAL HAIR? Like, not a plasticy looking wig?

Your little girl is so cute and I love the pics from the zoo! What zoo is that? I go to school in Chicago right my the Lincoln Park Zoo and my friend worked at the Brookfield Zoo for a summer.

It's so depressing here today - I can't wait for Disney and I'm sure you can't either!

Those are from Brookfield zoo. My inlaws have a membership so we get in for free. It finally stopped raining by me.

Yes that's Alice's real hair. I liked when the face characters used their real hair. Thanks for reading.

 

[Jenjulia]

You've gotten so much planned! Mother's Day will defiantely be better this year for you! I can relate though. Last year we ate at McD's in Racine if I remember right, lol....I'm looking forward to your tr for your food reviews since we're wanting to eat in a lot of the same places.

So you got crocs? I'm really sorry they left your feet hurting. I'm going to make a wish that the crocs start feeling great soon! M looks like she loved the zoo though!

I'm going to check out Michael's the next time I'm in SF's for a lanyard. Are you and M wearing them for pins? Cute idea! I picked up some princess ribbon there a couple weeks ago to make something with. I have no idea what though.

I was so excited to see the pics of the countdown chain. I want to do that for the kids too. Probably after J's birthday or Halloween? The Honeymoon pics are great too. I would've loved to see the Padme/Anakin pic though.

Jen

 

[chicagoshannon]

You've gotten so much planned! Mother's Day will defiantely be better this year for you! I can relate though. Last year we ate at McD's in Racine if I remember right, lol....I'm looking forward to your tr for your food reviews since we're wanting to eat in a lot of the same places.

So you got crocs? I'm really sorry they left your feet hurting. I'm going to make a wish that the crocs start feeling great soon! M looks like she loved the zoo though!

I'm going to check out Michael's the next time I'm in SF's for a lanyard. Are you and M wearing them for pins? Cute idea! I picked up some princess ribbon there a couple weeks ago to make something with. I have no idea what though.

I was so excited to see the pics of the countdown chain. I want to do that for the kids too. Probably after J's birthday or Halloween? The Honeymoon pics are great too. I would've loved to see the Padme/Anakin pic though.

Jen

haha I don't think Eric will part with the pic of us from MGM. I wore my Mary Jane crocs yesterday and I think I like those better then the Caymans. I also have a pair of Mickey athen flip flops that I'm bringing and Mickey Beach on their way from crocs.com. I'll have plenty of shoe's to choose from.

 

[seasideteacher]

haha I don't think Eric will part with the pic of us from MGM. I wore my Mary Jane crocs yesterday and I think I like those better then the Caymans. I also have a pair of Mickey athen flip flops that I'm bringing and Mickey Beach on their way from crocs.com. I'll have plenty of shoe's to choose from.

I just tried to buy some Mary Janes for my Disney trip.. But I need 9 1/2 , 9 was too small and 10s are too big! (i have long skinny feet!) I was so bummed, because I like how they are light weight and supportive!

I like the list of fun cheap items from Walmart! Good idea on the glow bracelets!

 

[chicagoshannon]

You've gotten so much planned! Mother's Day will defiantely be better this year for you! I can relate though. Last year we ate at McD's in Racine if I remember right, lol....I'm looking forward to your tr for your food reviews since we're wanting to eat in a lot of the same places.

So you got crocs? I'm really sorry they left your feet hurting. I'm going to make a wish that the crocs start feeling great soon! M looks like she loved the zoo though!

I'm going to check out Michael's the next time I'm in SF's for a lanyard. Are you and M wearing them for pins? Cute idea! I picked up some princess ribbon there a couple weeks ago to make something with. I have no idea what though.

I was so excited to see the pics of the countdown chain. I want to do that for the kids too. Probably after J's birthday or Halloween? The Honeymoon pics are great too. I would've loved to see the Padme/Anakin pic though.

Jen

I just tried to buy some Mary Janes for my Disney trip.. But I need 9 1/2 , 9 was too small and 10s are too big! (i have long skinny feet!) I was so bummed, because I like how they are light weight and supportive!

I like the list of fun cheap items from Walmart! Good idea on the glow bracelets!

I've had so many problems with sizing for my crocs. The 9 mary jane's fit really well. ( I wear size 9) I ordered the Disney beach crocs in size medium - supposed to be size 8/9, too small. I gave them to my mom. I ordered size 9 in Caymans and they seem to be ok. I'm now waiting for size large in the disney beach. I hope they fit! My size 9 Athens fit well athough they're a little tight by the strap but the size 9 canvas capri's ( I think that's what they are called) are too short. I think I'm gonna have to stick with the mary janes for the most parat!

 

[chicagoshannon]

Day 2: travel day

I figure we'll get a bit of a late start this morning. I plan on eating breakfast at the hotel around 7am and being on the road again by 8am.

I figure we'll be at the welcome center around noonish. We'll let Madeline run around for a bit and get our orange juice and whatever brochures we so desire.

A couple hours later we'll be in Kissimmee. I'm pretty sure we'll stop at the grocery store and get some basics before we check into our condo at 4pm. After we get settled I plan to head to Downtown Disney.

I'm hoping everyone is agreeable to Earl of Sandwich for supper. We'll then go get my parents annual passes if they decide to not go the undercover tourist route like us. I might try to hit up the toy store and get Potato head parts before we leave. We'll then head out to the condo. We'll hopefully be back by about 7pm. That will give us enough time to enjoy the pool for a little while. Then it's off to bed. We have an early day at Magic Kingdom the next day!

 

[chicagoshannon]

I took a little time this afternoon and snapped a few pictures of our stuff. First up the shoes:

The 3 bottome left pairs are Madeline's. I think I'll bring a pair of regular sandals for her too. The plain tennis shoes I just got yesterday when I discovered the ones she wears everyday were suddenly too small. The pair on the right are Eric's. He's wearing the other pair we're brining. I also have a pair of sandals for him to wear to the pool/water park. He HATES sandals! The rest are mine. The purple mj's are coming FOR SURE and so are the green/orange flip flops. Also the pair of tennis shoes on the left top row are coming for sure. The pink mickey crocs came this morning. They're a bit big but I'll either bring those or the green ones. I'm thinking 4 pairs max is what I'll take.

Rain poncho's (need one more) and hair thingy's

lanyards and bubbles

close up of lanyards

glow sticks and the cool water bottle I got yesterday

sunscreen, aloe, life vest (nemo is on it), swim diapers, inflatable ring, and ear plugs. I'll probably bring 3 suits for Madeline, 2 for Eric and I.

sunglasses, sticker books for the car/potty training while we're gone, and bath books

The container to keep toys in in the car and tote things to the pool. This thing holds TONS of stuff!


Eric made the reservations for the Behind the Seeds tour this morning. The first one is at 11:15 so we're doing that. I'm bummed because I was hoping to be eating lunch at that point and ready to head to World Showcase. Oh well.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Magic Kingdom day- day 3

I'm am so excited about this day! We plan on being there at rope drop. Park opens at 9am. I think we'll leave out condo around 8am. Hopefully that won't be too hard.

I want to get some pictures from photopass in front of the castle. Hopefully that wont' take too long because I want to get to Dumbo before it gets too busy. Madeline is looking forward to doing this ride with daddy! We'll grab fast passes for Peter Pan and then ride It's a Small World. All of the touring plans I've run have us doing Snow White after Dumbo but I don't want Madeline's first dark ride to be that one. I"m afraid she wouldn't go on any other's afer that! We'll do the rest of Fantasy land and then send a runner to get Splash Mountain fast passes. We'll then do the Haunted Mansion and the Riverboat. Then hopefully it will be time for another fast pass and we'll grab Thunder Mountain. At this point it should be lunch time and we'll probably do Pecos Bill's. Then it's time for Tom Sawyer's island. Before we leave the park we'll grab Jungle Cruise fp's. We'll then head out for a nap. We'll return by 4:30 and hit up Adventure land, SM, BTR, and probably country bears. Then we'll watch Spectro and Wishes and head home.

So on our first MK we plan to do Fantasy Land, Liberty Square, Frontier Land, and Adventure Land. It will be a long busy day.

Things up in the air:
baby's first hair cut. I sort of want to do this but I'm not sure.
will we in fact be able to stay for Spector and Wishes- it's pretty late.
How much time will Madeline want to just play and run around??
Shopping: must leave time for shopping, Madeline needs ears!

I believe the only ride we'll have to do baby swap on is BTR. My mom said she doesn't really want to ride Splash Mountain. I dont' think anything else we plan to ride this day has a height restriction.

 

[tiggersam00]

I love the idea of baby's 1st haircut (you mean at the barber shop in MK right?)... but if time doesn't allow I could see cutting it out. However, on our trip in Dec our waitress at 50"s Prime Time said she took all her kids there for their 1st haircut and it was wonderful. She said they have no fear of "the chair" and love having her put in ponytails and things like that now b/c it reminds them of the barber shop on Main St I thought that was sweet!

 

[chicagoshannon]

Oh that's great! Maybe I'll try to have it done right before we leave for nap or something. I think it's cool that you get the free Mickey ears! I don't want any of that gel though!

 

[Reese'smom]

I love your recent updates! Love all the shopping pictures. Where did you find those bath books? Reese would love the Nemo one. Right now she's watching it for about the 1000th time.

 

[seasideteacher]

Oh I so want my DS to get his first hair cut there! The only real problem will be if he has enough hair! lol!
Sounds like you have a good plan for MK! Good luck!

 

[chicagoshannon]

I love your recent updates! Love all the shopping pictures. Where did you find those bath books? Reese would love the Nemo one. Right now she's watching it for about the 1000th time.

I got those bath books at Target about 3 weeks ago. I think they might have had Cars too.

Oh I so want my DS to get his first hair cut there! The only real problem will be if he has enough hair! lol!
Sounds like you have a good plan for MK! Good luck!

Well he'll be almost a year when you go so I bet it will be just about time for his first haircut. If Madeline was a boy she would have had her first haircut about then.

This is how long M's hair was when she was about 15 months old.

It was just a little bit shorter at 1 year. Now it's past her shoulder.

 

[chicagoshannon]

Out tickets just came in the mail!!