"Will Santa know where to find us?" PTR

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"Will Santa know where to find us?" was the first thing out of my son's mouth when we told him we were going to Disney for Christmas.

Still not sure how to handle that. I'd love some ideas.

So, we are officially paid in full today for our 2nd Disney trip. We are going December 21st-26th and staying at All Star Movies.

Here's our park plan (courtesy of Tour Guide Mike)

12/21 Hollywood Studios/dinner at GF Cafe
12/22 Epcot/lunch at Teppan Edo
12/23 Epcot/dinner at Akershus
Christmas Eve Magic Kingdom/dinner at Crystal Palace
Christmas Day Hollywood Studios/dinner at Mama Melrose/Fantasmic
12/26 Magic Kingdom/breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table

All our ADRs are places we haven't eaten yet except Akershus - we enjoyed it so much last time we're going again.

We are driving from North Texas. We are planning on splitting it up in to two days. Two reasons: I think it's safer and we have two small children.

Here's the cast:

Me (Lisa) 40, Claire 3 in 3 weeks

DH Chris, also 40:

DS Daniel, 7:

This will be MUCH different from our first trip! We flew and stayed in the cabins at FW. (it was also 25 degrees all week)

I'm ready to start packing and we're still 52 days out! (well, 50 until we get in the van)

 

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Starting to pull all my planning together. Tragedy, though - I can't open my packing list I made for our first trip. The file seems to be corrupted, and I have tried everything - copying it somewhere else, trying to open it with IE, nothing works. I had burned all my files to a CD and deleted them off the hard drive. Feels almost like starting over.

So, back to the "Ultimate Packing List" I started with the first time. I have GOT to have a list. Good thing, though, I did have my "to do" list saved somewhere else. (things like stop the mail and kennel the dog)

I love this part of the planning - pulling together all my stuff to print out and organize - resort maps, park hours, ADRs, touring plans, etc.

Maybe I'll search the boards for other packing lists. I remember that the "ultimate" didn't fit our family too well.

I've got all day - home feeling icky. Not bad enough to sleep, but icky enough not to teach.

 

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I've got lots of things done since my last post!

• made reservation at Bibbibi Bobbidi Boutique for DD3
• made reservation at Pirate's League for DS7
• re-did my packing list from scratch (what a job!)
• made ID tags for the kids
• printed out countdown chains for the kids and helped them put them together
• pulled out my Disney box and rummaged through it - a lot of it needs to go in a scrapbook!
• found new lanyards for me and DD at Michael's for 99 cents.
• made a detailed budget for the trip down and back - a time where we could easily overspend
• asked family friend's daughter to come over and play with/feed our darling cat

Patiently waiting for my Mickey mail. My heart tends to beat a little faster whenever I get the mail. ICK! When will it come?

Here's a picture of the ID cards I made. I'm going to laminate them and put it on DS7's lanyard. DD3 I may attach to her some other way.

The kids really love the countdown chains. It took awhile to make them, plus quite a bit of mommy and daddy help. But they love taking a link off every day! I think it will be even more fun as we get closer. We are actually thinking of leaving two days earlier and surprising them. It's real cheap to add on ticket days, and I found some reasonable hotels nearby. I don't mind driving and eating PBJs for two extra days in the park. Espcecially knowing that in two days the dining plan will kick in! Here are the chains:

Yes, that's a princesss dress hanging on the wall in the background. She keeps it handy in case the mood strikes. (which is often!)

Lastly, I am excited about Pirate's League and BBB. We did PL last year and Daniel LOVED it. The whole experience was worth every penny, plus all day he was the center of attention everywhere we went. People stopped him in the park to take pictures with him! I hope the BBB experience is just as good for Claire.

Here's Daniel from last year: