What?! I Won?! Woohoo! Disneyland/Disney World PTR **On Our Way!**

[Kriddlet]

Let's see...where to start?! First, my name is Kristen! I just joined these boards not even a month ago. I have always loved Disney and all things Disney related. I haven't been to Disney World since 1997 with my parents and brothers. I have never been to Disneyland. I have always wanted to take my DD's to WDW; but financially we couldn't afford it.

I had tentatively starting planning (basically just researching) a trip to WDW in February of 2010. I'm not a fan of heat or crowds, so I figured, February sounded like a good time to go! Sadly, to this point, I had not a penny (well maybe just a couple pennies) saved. I was losing hope

Then...on May 14th, I got the called that changed everything! I saw "Macy's" on my caller id...and I was thinking, what are they calling for? I don't have an account or anything with them! Well, they were calling to say I was a potential winner in their Celebrate Mom Sweepstakes I had entered. Ok, great I thought. Just potential they are probably just calling everyone to confirm their contact information. Then the rep said she was going to email me forms and to get them back ASAP so they could confirm flights So, at this point, I was starting to get excited but still not sure what was happening

I printed off all the forms, started reading them and had my dad read them too. Apparently they have to say potential winner until they get your W9 and confirm you don't work at macy's/Disney, etc. Well, I didn't know this!

So, I get psyched! Woohoo! I'm going on a trip! Not only to WDW but starting out in Disneyland! I couldn't beleive it! Me...who has the worst luck of anyone I know! I still can't beleive it!!! So, I was yelling all over the house, telling me DD's who are aboslutely THRILLED! And that's how this all started!

Stay tuned for my cast of characters!

 

[Disneymoon0909]

MANY MANY CONGRATS!!!

Where in NH are you? I'm in Manchester

 

[Kriddlet]

Cast of Characters:

First, there's me! I'm 29 years old (Soon to hit 30 on July 5th ). I work full time, and have 2 DD's. I LOVE to take pictures. We went on a trip to NY for 1 night, and I took over 200 pictures I also love tattoos! Have 7 so far, and counting!

Now there's my DFi, Rob! He has never been too Disney, and isn't really looking forward to this trip either I don't get it! He is more concerned with just riding his Harley and being the "bad boy!" He also loves getting tattooed (his dad is tattooed from ear lobes to feet!)

Next is DD (11), Amber. She's just getting into the whole pre-teen deal, and well, I wasn't ready for it yet! She loves to shop at the mall, and loves to play softball and soccer! She has been on day trips to WDW with my father, but never for more than 1 day. Can't wait to bring her for more than that!

Then I have DD (6) Shannon who definitely gives us a run for our money. She has a very strong personality and doesn't put up with anything! She just started playing T-ball this year, and will be heading to 2nd grade in the fall!

And Lastly my DD who will forever be 6 weeks old, and will be there with us in Spirit. Her name is Cassandra. She was born on 9/10/2007 with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. She was called back to Heaven on 10/28/2007. She was absolutely amazing, and I miss her so much everyday

That is my cast of characters!! I am on a mission to at least get DFi to "like" Disney!

 

[Kriddlet]

QUOTE=Disneymoon0909;32115358]MANY MANY CONGRATS!!!

Where in NH are you? I'm in Manchester [/QUOTE]

Hi Neighbor! We are in Pelham

 

[Kriddlet]

What exactly have we won?

Well Macy's did a sweepstakes for Mother's Day for a trip for 4 to Disneyland and Disneyworld. They picked one winner from each of the 50 states plus the District Of Columbia. I was the winner for NH Also on DIS are the winners from VT, NC and OR!

What did we win? We won a trip for 4, leaving June 21st and spending 2 nights in California, then going to FL for 3 nights. We are staying at the Grand Californian in CA and the Yacht Club in FL

All of our airfare is paid for, Hotels, park tickets, ground transportation and we get a $200 giftcard to DL and a $300 gift card to WDW The only thing we have to pay for are meals and souveniers. WOOHOO!

We also get a private breakfast in DL on Monday morning, and priority seating for Illuminations at Epcot on Thursday.

I am SO psyched about this trip, I think even more so then my DD's. I just know without winning this trip, WDW wouldn't have been in our near future. I am counting down the days right along with them! 18 and Counting!

 

[Kriddlet]

So, as of right now...I am waiting for my confirmation package from the Disney rep. This will include flight confirmations, hotel confirmations, ground transportation, and itinerary. Since we leave in 18 days, I have been checking the mail every day waiting for these...nothing yet. I emailed her, she said hopefully by the end of this week. So, until I get this, I don't know much about what's going to happen while we are gone.

What I do know is:

• We Leave NH at 11:30 AM, on Father's Day, flying Southwest
• We have a layover in Las Vegas, and land in LA at 4:10PM
• We are flying out of CA at 8:30 on Tuesday Morning to head to Orlando
• We leave Orlando at 7:40 PM on Friday night

So far, that's not really a lot to know! I also mentioned earlier about the special breakfast on Monday morning at DL, and the Illuminations dinner on Thursday night at Epcot. I tried to get an ADR for WDW, but yet to have any luck! I wanted to get a Character Breakfast, but I will keep tyring

Now my dilema is, which I really don't have any control over, is flying in at 4:10PM on Sunday. That means we only have Sunday night and all of Monday at DL. I was hoping to get an earlier flight on Sunday, but there isn't one But I will make due with the time we have there...I've never been to DL before, so it will all be so exciting!

 

[themousetrap]

Regardless of how long you get to stay, free is good. Free is great. At least they didn't blindside you with insane hotel, booking, travel, and flight taxes like a so-called contest did me a few years ago. With all the "miscellaneous" fees, I ended up falling short about 200 bucks had I bought the entire trip myself!

Congratulations. Not too many people in the English-speaking world can say they went to DL and DW in the same week!

 

[Kriddlet]

Regardless of how long you get to stay, free is good. Free is great. At least they didn't blindside you with insane hotel, booking, travel, and flight taxes like a so-called contest did me a few years ago. With all the "miscellaneous" fees, I ended up falling short about 200 bucks had I bought the entire trip myself!

Congratulations. Not too many people in the English-speaking world can say they went to DL and DW in the same week!

Wow! That's insane! Yes, I'm glad we haven't had any of those!

I am aboslutely PSYCHED about this trip I'm so excited I can't stand it! I will be proud to say that I went to DL and WDW all in the same week! Woohoo!

 

[Kriddlet]

I have been trying to find things to keep my DD's busy on all the plane rides we have to take.

They are each bringing their own small carryon with their MP3 players, Nintendo DS and an activity book I have made for each of them. (Thanks to everyone on DIS for all the great activity and coloring pages!!)

Now, I can't decide if I should bring a portable DVD player? I don't know if I want to deal with the hassle of keeping track of it and the DVD's. I will be bringing my laptop, but the battery doesn't really have enough life in it to play the DVD the whole way through. I think with their MP3's, activity books, nintendo DS, plus playing cards, a book to read, they will have plenty to do.

Am I just kidding myself? I still can't decide if the DVD player would be a good idea or not!

 

[minniecarousel]

I wouldn't bother with the DVD player. I think you have enough to keep them busy. (Just think back to when you were little, you - maybe - had a GameBoy?)

Disneyland will be open until midnight on Sunday, so you will have time to go there for the evening. Then on Monday, you will be able to park-hop between Disneyland and California Adventure Park (they are very close - just a plaza in between them). I'd get to Disneyland as early as possible on Monday morning and hit Fantasyland - great themed, original rides. You'll be on Eastern time - so even if you're up at 7 am, your body will think it's 10 am (don't think about the fact that you were up 'til the wee hours of the morning the night before!)

So glad you started this pre-trip report!

 

[Trish Bessette]

Hi Kristen

I'm Kristen's new found friend from Vermont who ALSO WON this trip

Great pre-trip report!! I can honestly say I feel the very same way

I wouldn't bother with bringing the the DVD player. I'm bringing their Nintendo DS, iPod's, books and I think I noticed United which I'm flying has movies they play. The girls were going to load a movie on their iPod too.

Now...what do WE do on the plane?? I'm thinking drink since I'm worried about flying

 

[Kriddlet]

Hi Kristen

I'm Kristen's new found friend from Vermont who ALSO WON this trip

Great pre-trip report!! I can honestly say I feel the very same way

I wouldn't bother with bringing the the DVD player. I'm bringing their Nintendo DS, iPod's, books and I think I noticed United which I'm flying has movies they play. The girls were going to load a movie on their iPod too.

Now...what do WE do on the plane?? I'm thinking drink since I'm worried about flying

Hi my new trip winning friend!

Yes, I think I have decided to leave the DVD players behind. I don't want all this extra stuff to worry about. Just worrying about them leaving their DS's or Ipods is enough work for me!

As far as what we do on the plane, yes I think drinking is in order I am also very nervous about the whole flying cross country thing!

 

[Kriddlet]

Originally I was planning on taking my DD's backpack with me to use at the park. But the more I looked at it, it looked really big...and hot So, I decided I better go with something smaller. I mean, my DDs' aren't that little anymore, so I don't need to pack diapers and baby wipes and such.

So, I went shopping. It was a lot harder to find something than I thought it was going to be. Apparently if it's not "back to school season", bags are lacking. But, I did find this bag, the strap is long so I can wear it across me, and it's not tooy heavy or bulky. It has a few pockets to keep things separate, but not too many to hold us up at security

I will have to get a picture of it!

 

[themousetrap]

When I started hunting a bag, I literally spent hours looking. Then, I realized I was looking in the wrong sections. Don't look for backpacks. Look for diaper bags that LOOK like backpacks. I wanted one that had the single strap across the chest so I wouldn't be tempted to fill it up to the brim and look like I was hiking in the Andes.

They make them in all sizes with TONS of compartments because they're intended for babies. And, they're not too big.

So, if you can't find a suitable backpack (mainly because it's not start of school season), definitely go digging through the diaper bags. They're always in season!

 

[NotSoEvilStepmother]

Congratulations on your amazing win!!!! That's really awesome. You are bound to have an amazing time and I can't wait to hear all about it.

And btw, if you happen to miss Fantasyland in DL, don't fret because WDW's is quite similar, sans just one or two rides.

 

[Kriddlet]

When I started hunting a bag, I literally spent hours looking. Then, I realized I was looking in the wrong sections. Don't look for backpacks. Look for diaper bags that LOOK like backpacks. I wanted one that had the single strap across the chest so I wouldn't be tempted to fill it up to the brim and look like I was hiking in the Andes.

They make them in all sizes with TONS of compartments because they're intended for babies. And, they're not too big.

So, if you can't find a suitable backpack (mainly because it's not start of school season), definitely go digging through the diaper bags. They're always in season!

I didn't even think of diaper bags! That's a great idea!

 

[Kirby]

I saw on your post on the other thread that you had begun a PTR so I zipped over here. I'm excited just reading everything!

Have they given you any idea about how much free time you will have? It seems that I read about someone else winning a free trip to WDW and how they spent quite a bit of time doing photo shoots for advertisements for Disney. Have you heard if they might be doing the same thing for this group of contest winners?

 

[Kriddlet]

I saw on your post on the other thread that you had begun a PTR so I zipped over here. I'm excited just reading everything!

Have they given you any idea about how much free time you will have? It seems that I read about someone else winning a free trip to WDW and how they spent quite a bit of time doing photo shoots for advertisements for Disney. Have you heard if they might be doing the same thing for this group of contest winners?

No, they haven't said. Jeesh...I hope we don't spend a lot of time doing photo shoots! We are all very eagerly awaiting our overnight packages which will have our itinerary included. There are a couple group things, but she said we would have free time. I hope it's a lot of it! LOL

 

[NC_Mom]

Hi my new trip winning friend!

Yes, I think I have decided to leave the DVD players behind. I don't want all this extra stuff to worry about. Just worrying about them leaving their DS's or Ipods is enough work for me!

As far as what we do on the plane, yes I think drinking is in order I am also very nervous about the whole flying cross country thing!

What a great report! I'm still trying to figure out what entertainment to bring for my oldest. Like you all, I don't want to drag around a DVD player.

It's going to be a long flight for me to LA. And I don't do well on planes (very envious of those that have no fear). I say bottoms up for all of us!

 

[Kriddlet]

What a great report! I'm still trying to figure out what entertainment to bring for my oldest. Like you all, I don't want to drag around a DVD player.

It's going to be a long flight for me to LA. And I don't do well on planes (very envious of those that have no fear). I say bottoms up for all of us!

Hello to another trip winning friend!

Too bad we weren't all on the same flight to LA togther, we could have our own bottoms up party! I'm sure we'd be quite the crew by the time we arrived there LOL