We're off to see the wizards! We leave tomorrow!!

[Tinker326]

Love the scavenger hunt! You could 'add' to it- that once you guys find it, the kids have to take a creative type of picture with the item? And then you'd have a pretty cool scrapbook when you got home of the Potterstuff!

In fact, I might borrow this idea when we go back as a family (plans for 2014 after the new Potter portion opens!).

And doesn't it stink how things always seem to break when it's the worst possible timing? Last year right before we went to China to get dd, we were scraping the last of the money we needed for travel & fees...and our freakin' air busted. It was an old unit (30 years) and we had repaired several times. This time it was D.O.N.E. And just like that, a week before China, we had to buy a new air conditioner for our house. Ouch, that hurt!

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

The scavenger hunt looks AWESOME!!!! LOVE IT! Nicole's idea is cool too, take photos with each thing you find! (although that might have just been a given for you. Can't imagine you NOT taking a pic! LOL)

 

[Pixiedust530]

The scavenger hunt is such a neat idea. It's the kind of thing I would like to do once Caden is a little older. He could do it now (at age 6) but I think he would bore with it much more quickly.

I love the idea mentioned above to take pics with/of each item on the list and make a scrapbook or journal when you return. What a cool memory!

 

[-Hope-]

Thanks everyone! I had a lot of fun making it so hopefully we'll have even more fun doing it. Nicole, the picture idea is a great one. I'm a photo freak (my kids run from my camera) so I'm sure we'll have plenty of pics but incorporating it into the game could be fun as well.

 

[natebenma]

So sorry to hear about everything that has broken down! Not cool!
I'm just glad to hear that you had connections and help with the replacements and repairs.

I can't believe how close Hedwig is getting to the end of your ticker!

Very nice Jurassic Park movie night. Really great ideas for themed food. JP is one of my all-time favorite books and although there are some major differences/omissions in the movie, it so exciting that I can watch it again and again. There are some truly funny and memorable lines.

The Jurassic Park area at IoA is supremely cool- so well-themed with great details. My youngest son is a total dinosaur freak, so this is one of our favorite places.

What a super scavenger hunt! You did a great job with the selections, and the list looks fantastic!

 

[-Hope-]

So sorry to hear about everything that has broken down! Not cool!
I'm just glad to hear that you had connections and help with the replacements and repairs.

Yep, I'm trying to focus on the "lucky to know people" part instead of the "unlucky to need them" part.

I can't believe how close Hedwig is getting to the end of your ticker!

Yes, she's nearly there- and so are we!

Very nice Jurassic Park movie night. Really great ideas for themed food. JP is one of my all-time favorite books and although there are some major differences/omissions in the movie, it so exciting that I can watch it again and again. There are some truly funny and memorable lines.

Thanks! I haven't actually read the book but definitely should! And yes, there are definitely memorable moments. I was really pleasantly surprised with how well the movie has stood the test of time.

The Jurassic Park area at IoA is supremely cool- so well-themed with great details. My youngest son is a total dinosaur freak, so this is one of our favorite places.

We love dinosaurs (well, anything science related really) so we're really looking forward to this area- plus River Adventure is similar to one of DD's faves at Six Flags, Tidal Wave, so she'll be happy!

What a super scavenger hunt! You did a great job with the selections, and the list looks fantastic!

Thanks! I realized that I'd left a golden snitch off of the list and need to add it before printing.

 

[-Hope-]

GAAAH! We came home this afternoon to find our AC broken.

I'm over it though. It'll get fixed. It will cost money. I will either get called in to sub so we'll be okay or we'll forgo future vacations and fun things for a while. Anyway, no worries. We still did some trip prep today because we're only 23 days out and life goes on. This is just part of being a muggle.

We finally finished up the kids shirts they'll wear on the day we head to US. We used the same bleach/stencil technique that we used for our Deathly Hallows shirts.

Kya settled on an evil minion...


While Jace went with Doctor Who...


I know DW isn't really officially a Universal property and there's no show or ride... but there is a shop, so that counts, right! Mostly he just wanted something that he'd want to wear after the trip and this will definitely get some wear.

I also tackled the last of the shopping I needed to do and think we now have everything we need for our trip. Including a suitcase for Kya. Hers is too small and had seen better days so she borrowed one from our neighbor.

Getting closer every day!

 

[Tinker326]

Oh my gosh- I feel like I cursed you with talk of my broken A/C last year. Ahhhh...nooooooooooooooo!

So sorry. That stinks so much!

I know there are tutorials out there (say pinterest) but without looking, how do you do those shirts? They are AWESOME!!!!!! Is it a stencil and you spray bleach around it?

 

[-Hope-]

Oh my gosh- I feel like I cursed you with talk of my broken A/C last year. Ahhhh...nooooooooooooooo!

So sorry. That stinks so much!

I think my curse started a few months ago when I lost my job right before everything started breaking around here. We'll survive and we're going to have a BLAST on our trip.

I know there are tutorials out there (say pinterest) but without looking, how do you do those shirts? They are AWESOME!!!!!! Is it a stencil and you spray bleach around it?

Thanks!

Yes, they are stencils- I printed them on sticker paper so I didn't have to worry about the bleach leaking under the stencil and it worked really well. I did a more thorough explanation when I made our deathly hallows shirts.

I just did a google image search for the stencils I wanted. There was no stencil available for the evil minion so I used a coloring page and just cut it apart in the places I thought would look good. It was a very simple process and didn't take much time. We have plans to make more things- Kya wants a Doctor Who hoodie and I want a messenger bag.

 

[-Hope-]

Three weeks!! Three weeks from this moment we'll be on our way to Orlando- probably arriving in Atlanta for a brief layover.

I'm settling into my new job pretty well. It's only three hours, twice a week, and pretty close to home so it's not really much of an adjustment schedule wise. I'm on the sub list as well because that is far fewer hours than I had at my previous job but so far I haven't been called in. It's not a big deal because I do have a few days scheduled when the teachers have conferences and I also know it will pick up as the school year gets into full swing. But for now I'm mostly at home. And bored. SO BORED.

On the upside this has translated into finishing up my pre-trip to-do list.

We've had a mason jar in the kitchen for about a year to collect loose change and slip any extra money in we could. Yesterday I took it to the bank and cashed it in- it was enough to give each of the kids money for wands plus a little extra.

I found Gringott's withdrawal slips online and made envelopes with a Gringott's seal to put the money and slips in...




While I was at the bank I also took out the money we need for tips. When we went to WDW in 2010 I made tip envelopes that I found on the DISign boards. This time however I decided to go with money bands, similar to the kind used to wrap money in banks.


I used various UO themed pictures with thank you messages and wrapped them around the tips we'll need for dining, housekeeping and shuttles. I decided to go with the money bands for a few reasons. First of all, I thought it would waste less paper, use less ink, and would cut down on any confusion from the servers/housekeepers. I've heard stories of tips being thrown away because an envelope was mistaken for trash and we had a mousekeeper leave one behind because she didn't realized it was for her. The bands are obviously money but also have a cute, personalized touch.

After I banded the $$ together I put it in an envelope arranged in the order we'll need it so it's easy to grab while we're on our trip. I know, I know. It's a sickness. But in my defense I'm REALLY BORED.

Then this morning I took one last look over our itinerary and printed it out. I even have a little park bag size version on card stock to take while we're in the parks.


The plans haven't changed much from the originals. The only real difference is that 3 Broomsticks is now on the dining plan so our OOP meal will now be in the new Simpson's area. I'm pretty excited about that! I'd wanted to try the food there because it's getting great reviews but with free dining we only needed to pay for one OOP meal, which was going to be 3 Broomsticks. But now that it's on the DP we were able to work things around so we can try a Krusty Burger.

I also color coded the attractions based on whether or not my mom can ride them. That's really the main reason I wanted the park size version. I don't want to be there wondering which rides were okay for her and this way, I won't have to second guess myself.

So, all I really have left to do at this point is pack, which won't happen until closer to the trip. (Although I do have an every growing pile of stuff on my kitchen table that I don't want to forget.) I guess if I finally get called in to sub and get busy it will all be ready to go and if I don't I'll just have to do a few movie days to alleviate the boredom.

 

[macraven]

you are so talented...........

and, creative!

 

[Pixiedust530]

You call it a sickness...I call it genius!!! I love your planning style...it reminds me of ME! LOL. I am in love with the Gringotts withdrawal...what an adorably cute idea!!! The money bands around the tips are a really cute idea as well. I might have to do something similar for our Disney meals. We are not on the dining plan so we will be paying for meals AND tips OOP. I haven't yet decided if I will pay with cash, gift cards, my debit or a combo of all 3. Decisions, decisions!

You are exactly 3 weeks out and tomorrow I am exactly 5 weeks out...it can;t get here soon enough!

 

[GlendaO]

While Jace went with Doctor Who...
http://s876.photobucket.com/user/hnilges/media/null_zpse1a6eeee.jpg.html

I know DW isn't really officially a Universal property and there's no show or ride... but there is a shop, so that counts, right! Mostly he just wanted something that he'd want to wear after the trip and this will definitely get some wear.

:

Okay. I'm really enjoying reading your PTR! We'll be there three weeks from yesterday so you're helping me loads

I've got other questions but I'm saving them til I'm all caught up but, before I forget, a DW shop? How have I missed this? Maybe we've always been so HP focused, I haven't noticed. ;/)

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Ok, I am NEVER letting any of our friends say I'm the one who is a planning freak! You are over the top! Even when I'm bored, I would never have thought of these things!

LOVE the money holders and how cool that you get to eat in the Simpsons area! WOOT!

 

[-Hope-]

you are so talented...........

and, creative!

Thanks!

You call it a sickness...I call it genius!!! I love your planning style...it reminds me of ME! LOL. I am in love with the Gringotts withdrawal...what an adorably cute idea!!! The money bands around the tips are a really cute idea as well. I might have to do something similar for our Disney meals. We are not on the dining plan so we will be paying for meals AND tips OOP. I haven't yet decided if I will pay with cash, gift cards, my debit or a combo of all 3. Decisions, decisions!

You are exactly 3 weeks out and tomorrow I am exactly 5 weeks out...it can;t get here soon enough!

We are both so close! Glad to know I'm not the only crazy planner. I found the withdrawal slips when I was searching for the seal to put on the envelopes and I just couldn't resist using them. I thought about gift cards as well but decided against them mainly because if there's a few dollars left on one I always end up having to spend more money just to use it up. Plus we have a day at Legoland as well so we'll have to use cash/debit there.

Okay. I'm really enjoying reading your PTR! We'll be there three weeks from yesterday so you're helping me loads

I've got other questions but I'm saving them til I'm all caught up but, before I forget, a DW shop? How have I missed this? Maybe we've always been so HP focused, I haven't noticed. ;/)

My understanding is that it's near T23D. I've seen pictures on another TR so I know it exists- we're pretty excited to check it out!

Ok, I am NEVER letting any of our friends say I'm the one who is a planning freak! You are over the top! Even when I'm bored, I would never have thought of these things!

LOVE the money holders and how cool that you get to eat in the Simpsons area! WOOT!

Whatever do you mean??

 

[Alysa]

Can't believe the trip is two weeks away for you! Love the scavenger hunt and the deposit slips but you know me - the DW shirt is my favourite of all!

 

[-Hope-]

Can't believe the trip is two weeks away for you! Love the scavenger hunt and the deposit slips but you know me - the DW shirt is my favourite of all!

Thanks Alysa! I can hardly believe how close it is!

And I love that shirt too! As soon as I find a good deal on a messenger bag I'm making one with a TARDIS design.

 

[-Hope-]

Apparently I just can't resist tinkering with plans. I waited quite a while before I printed what I thought were my finalized trip plans. But then I started thinking...

Monday evening my mom and I went for a walk. I asked her how her back was feeling and she said that while she is feeling better she's still tired and worn out easily. We don't really anticipate this being a huge problem in the parks because she'll have the opportunity to rest while we're riding some things she can't. But I also want to be sure she has times when she can truly rest.

After giving it some thought I decided to change our reservation at Finnegan's from dinner to lunch. The last reservation of the day is at 5 which would cut short any afternoon break we might get but if we do CS for dinner we won't have to be back in the parks until closer to 6 which means we don't have to rush out of the park and still have plenty of time for a relaxing break before we have to head back. Doing things after dinner isn't as much of an option either because there are A LOT of shows at US we want to see so a break to sit down and have a relaxing lunch followed by some shows before we get to take an actual break back at the hotel seems perfect.

I also reworked the order we'll tour IOA for the same reason. Also because I wanted to be sure we were near Thunder Falls Terrace around lunch time.

I'd be happy to post touring plans if anyone is actually interested- just let me know!

We watched The Blues Brothers over the weekend and enjoyed it. It wasn't as big of a hit as Jurassic Park or ET but we all liked it. I'm glad we watched it because the Blues Brothers show gets great reviews and the music was our favorite part. Jace said it was musical for dudes.

We still have a few movies I want the kids to see before we go but hopefully I'm finished tinkering with plans at this point...

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

I'm such a lousy friend, I never called you back to discuss your changes! Looks like a good change though, makes a lot of sense! BTW, you have email.

 

[-Hope-]

I'm such a lousy friend, I never called you back to discuss your changes! Looks like a good change though, makes a lot of sense! BTW, you have email.

Nah, I figured you were busy and if I couldn't figure it out we'd talk today in person.