We're taking Grandma on the Magic! May 2012 PTR!

[flamestarrdust]

Welcome to my very first Disney Cruise PTR.

When: May 18-25, 2012

Whereisney Magic 5 Night Bahamian Cruise - Itinerary A
Plus a quick offsite stay and visit to Magic Kingdom

Who:

Me (33) – Love Disney, Always have. Parents took me to WDW when I was a kid about 3 separate times and each time we stayed offsite. Love planning WDW trips. Have onsite twice and loved it both times. Can't wait to do it again. I am very excited to be planning my first cruise and that it's a Disney cruise.

Fiancé aka DFi (33) – Been to WDW once and enjoyed it more than he thought. He is very excited to go on a cruise for the first time.

Daughter (13) Haylee – Likes Sleeping Beauty, Toy Story, Bambi, Snow White and most other Disney Movies especially “Nightmare Before Christmas”, Also a big fan of My Chemical Romance and their lead singer, Gerard Way. Likes reading books about zombies. Been to WDW once. Never been on a cruise.

Daughter (13) AJ – Loves anything regarding The Little Mermaid. Was her dream as a child to grow up and be just like Ariel. Loves ballet, Harry Potter, and Twilight. Loves science and reading. Been to WDW once. Never been on a cruise.

(I could only find a pic of all of us which is a few years old)
Grandma aka DFi's Mom: Likes Sci-fi movies, tv shows and books. Very excited about going on her first cruise. But no so excited about Disney. We are all hoping to change that on this trip

I can't wait to share more of the details of the trip with you. Plus my August 2010 TR was closed before I finished it so I will be finishing that here, too.

 

[jenifred]

Great start! We love vacationing with grandparents. Can't wait to hear about your trip!

 

[annmarieda]

I am here!!!

 

[flamestarrdust]

Great start! We love vacationing with grandparents. Can't wait to hear about your trip!

Thanks for joining! This will be our first time travelling with DFi's mom. I thought the cruise and the mini WDW visit would be a good, slow start for her.

I am here!!!

Yay! I'm so glad. I could not have a PTR or TR without you. It just wouldn't be the same!

 

[mousetravel]

Joining in!! Can't wait to hear more. I have a similar pic of my DD like the one of your DD dressed in the Japan outfit. So cute!

 

[annmarieda]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"

[COLOR="darkorchid"] Yay! I'm so glad. I could not have a PTR or TR without you. It just wouldn't be the same! [/COLOR]

Well, I wouldn't miss it!!! I can't wait to read about how you plan a cruise. I am very slowly... cautiously thinking about one in the distant future. The small space of the cabins and the fact it is a boat (which is on water ) makes me very nervous.

Joining in!! Can't wait to hear more. I have a similar pic of my DD like the one of your DD dressed in the Japan outfit. So cute!

I am not sure that I have ever commented on that pic... but it is one of my favorites you have shared. She looks quite stunning.

 

[swwake]

Hi there! Followed you over from somewhere else (Ann's?). Can't wait to hear more!

 

[snoozin'cruisin]

Welcome to my very first Disney Cruise PTR.

When: May 18-25, 2012

Whereisney Magic 5 Night Bahamian Cruise - Itinerary A
Plus a quick offsite stay and visit to Magic Kingdom

Who:

Me (33) – Love Disney, Always have. Parents took me to WDW when I was a kid about 3 separate times and each time we stayed offsite. Love planning WDW trips. Have onsite twice and loved it both times. Can't wait to do it again. I am very excited to be planning my first cruise and that it's a Disney cruise.

Fiancé aka DFi (33) – Been to WDW once and enjoyed it more than he thought. He is very excited to go on a cruise for the first time.

Daughter (13) Haylee – Likes Sleeping Beauty, Toy Story, Bambi, Snow White and most other Disney Movies especially “Nightmare Before Christmas”, Also a big fan of My Chemical Romance and their lead singer, Gerard Way. Likes reading books about zombies. Been to WDW once. Never been on a cruise.

Daughter (13) AJ – Loves anything regarding The Little Mermaid. Was her dream as a child to grow up and be just like Ariel. Loves ballet, Harry Potter, and Twilight. Loves science and reading. Been to WDW once. Never been on a cruise.

(I could only find a pic of all of us which is a few years old)
Grandma aka DFi's Mom: Likes Sci-fi movies, tv shows and books. Very excited about going on her first cruise. But no so excited about Disney. We are all hoping to change that on this trip

I can't wait to share more of the details of the trip with you. Plus my August 2010 TR was closed before I finished it so I will be finishing that here, too.

I'm a 70 plus grandma of 6 and a complete disney nut. I think your grandma with have the time of her life. Bon Voyage grandma

 

[flamestarrdust]

Well, I wouldn't miss it!!! I can't wait to read about how you plan a cruise. I am very slowly... cautiously thinking about one in the distant future. The small space of the cabins and the fact it is a boat (which is on water ) makes me very nervous.

I am also very nervous about the idea of being on a boat in the middle of the ocean. Unfortunately, I watched too many creepy youtube videos regarding cruise ships and very large waves. However, DFi insisted it was not like that so I am still nervous about it but willing to go anyway.

I am not sure that I have ever commented on that pic... but it is one of my favorites you have shared. She looks quite stunning.

Thank you so much. That is truly one of the best moments of our trip. Lots of pixiedust that day.

Hi there! Followed you over from somewhere else (Ann's?). Can't wait to hear more!

Thanks for joining!

Joining in!! Can't wait to hear more. I have a similar pic of my DD like the one of your DD dressed in the Japan outfit. So cute!

Thanks! The japanese outfits were a very memorable moment of our last trip. It was something completely unexpected.

I'm a 70 plus grandma of 6 and a complete disney nut. I think your grandma with have the time of her life. Bon Voyage grandma

I hope she does have a good time. Right now, she believes Disney is just for kids and doesn't get the appeal. I am hoping to change her mind just like I did DFi's.

 

[flamestarrdust]

I'll give you a small spoiler before I continue with my August 2010 TR. DFi did not expect to like WDW at all and fell in love with it. He announced that we would definitely be coming back. We also both fell in love with AKL and were hoping to stay there on a return trip. Our original thought was to return August 2011 but the more we talked about it, we liked the idea of going December 2011 instead. So when we got our tax refund, we booked the trip. However, a couple of months ago, we had expensive car issues and had to cancel the trip. I thought maybe I could save up the money and still make December work but things were looking a little iffy. So we discussed it and thought an April birthday trip might be better. My birthday and the girls' are both in April and going to WDW for our birthdays seemed like a dream. So we were getting all excited and discussing details when DFi's Mom chimed in wanting to know more about the trip. Now in the past she has seemed interested in trips we plan but has not shown much follow through. For example, we lived in Wilmington without her for a little while and invited her to come stay with us for a week and spend some time at the beach. She loves the beach and seemed into it until about a week before when she decided she didn't want to go. A couple weeks later she went to the beach with her bestfriend instead. Needless to say, we were disappointed and very wary of planning vacations that included her especially WDW ones since they are so much money and if she canceled last minute, it would be difficult to get a refund or someone to replace her. So back to the birthday trip planning, she was definitely showing a lot of interest especially hearing about all the details of our last trip but I still wasn't sure about including her. So I priced out the trip to see how much more it would cost for her to come with us and it was going to be about $2000 more. About the same time, a lot of the TRs and PTRs I was reading were all about cruises. None of us have ever been on a cruise and really wanted to go one one at some point. I have done plenty of research on them over the years and knew if we did one, Disney was definitely the way to go. So I started pricing cruises around May, towards the end of the school year after EOGs. The price to do the 5 day cruise with two staterooms for the 5 of us was the same price as the birthday trip for the 4 of us. So I ran the idea past DFi's mom and she was hooked. She loves the idea of it and can't wait to go. Hopefully, she doesn't change her mind last minute.

Up Next: Adding on possible WDW days and continuing my August 2010 TR...

 

[flamestarrdust]

Once we had decided a cruise would work for us, we still wanted a couple of days in the parks. One because DFi's Mom has never been and it is something I feel everyone must experience and the rest of us needed our WDW fix. Especially those of us who missed out on some crucial rides/attractions due to grumpy children on the last trip. Specifically regarding DFi not getting to ride Space Mountain. First I thought we would just stay offsite for one or two nights and go to MK for the day. Then I realized how awful it would be if I was there but didn't show DFi's Mom Epcot. Plus I really want to ride TT again. Then thinking about that I knew DFi would want to go back to AK to ride EE. So now we are leaning towards a couple more days than actually planned. Plus AJ really wants to go to Universal to see the Harry Potter section. She is a huge HP fan and has read all the books repeatedly. So I want to squeeze that in as well. I am thinking maybe booking one of Universal's packages that include offsite hotels and getting tickets for two days at Universal, one for each park. Then driving over to WDW for another two days with park hoppers but still staying at the Universal suggested hotel. Of course, all of this is still up in the air and I will have to work out all the details of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now to continue my August 2010 TR

Here are the links to my PTR and part of the TR before it was closed:

AUGUST 2010 TR! http://www.disboards.com/showthread....5#post38036065
AUGUST 2010 PTR! http://www.disboards.com/showthread....2#post36865082

DHS (Continued)

After dinner at BLE, it was almost time for the last showing of Indiana Jones
Epic Stunt Spectacular. DFi took a few pics along the way. DFi is a big Star Wars fan as you will see in the pics below and ones to come.

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST....

 

[flamestarrdust]

Indiana Jones Show

Everyone really enjoyed this show and I was glad we were able to catch the last show of the day.

Next up, we went to ride Star Tours. The wait was only about 10 minutes. Again, DFi took pics along the way.

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST...

 

[flamestarrdust]

Next, we went to go see the Muppet Show. On the way the kids shot this pick of me and DFi.

The girls playing near the muppet fountain.

Muppet Show Pics.

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST...

 

[flamestarrdust]

More Muppet Show Pics:

Outside the show:

Next we made our way towards the movie sets to see if the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground was still open. Unfortunately, it was not.

I lived in NYC for 5 years so I had to have DFi take this pic:

It was getting late so we started to make our way out of the park and to grab a few snacks along the way.

Haylee really loves Coca-Cola so she begged to have this picture taken.

AJ and her favorite Disney character ride (since she didn't get to pose with the actual princess)

CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST...

 

[annmarieda]

I hope she doesn't change her mind!!! If you read the start of my PTR... my mil changed her mind... very frustrating.

Can't wait to read more.

Oh.. and btw... car troubles suck. Sorry bout that.

 

[flamestarrdust]

The girls and I were craving some snacks so we went inside a candy store to see if anything caught our attention. DFi passed the time taking pics.

CONTINUED IN THE NEXT POST...

 

[flamestarrdust]

Having no luck at the candy store, we decided on another treat. We used a snack credit for some popcorn and a QS credit for a turkey leg meal for us to split. While I went to wait in line for the turkey leg, DFi and the kids took more pics.

After we got the turkey leg, we took it to go and left to go back to POP. Once we were there, the kids decided they wanted to go for a swim. I wanted a refill for my mug so Haylee and I went to the food court while DFi and AJ went back to the room to change. Feeling a bit hungrier than we expected, Haylee and I also grabbed a philly cheese steak wrap to take back to the room to split with everyone.

Here are some pics DFi took of the pool and surrounding scenery while he and AJ waited for Haylee and I to return.

Once we returned, we all went for a quick swim and then returned to the room to munch on our food. Haylee got a little too into eating her turkey leg which turned out to be quite amusing. Here a few pics. There is also a small video of this which is a lot funnier than the pics.

After our mini feast, we called it a night to get some rest for our final day at Epcot.

Up Next, a full day at Epcot and more swollen feet...

 

[annmarieda]

You can tell by the pictures that you were all having a great day! I am so glad you are finishing off your TR!!

 

[flamestarrdust]

I hope she doesn't change her mind!!! If you read the start of my PTR... my mil changed her mind... very frustrating.

Can't wait to read more.

Oh.. and btw... car troubles suck. Sorry bout that.

Thanks. We are still kind of dealing with them but DFi knows how to fix it. It's just getting the parts that is the problem.

I am still very worried that she will change her mind but I intend on bugging her about it frequently to keep the idea in her mind. She is very excited about the fact that we have to go shopping for clothes for the trip. She is very much a tank top and sweatpants person most of the time. So I plan on taking her shopping to get some sundresses and maxi dresses. She loves those types of dresses so she is very excited to go shopping for them.

 

[flamestarrdust]

You can tell by the pictures that you were all having a great day! I am so glad you are finishing off your TR!!

I have to say as much as I feel let down by DHS compared to the other parks, this was by far our best park day. We were all relaxed and just having a great time. Hopefully on the next trip we will be able to do this more often and be less stressed out.