Working is bleeding me dry and I need a trip to DISNEY!

[Kitzka]

Okay, I stink at these snappy awesome thread titles but thought that I would give it a try!

Have been to the great Diz a number of times throught the years but this is my first trip that I planned and that my family will be going on alone.

it's less than 2 weeks away and I am so excited I can hardly stand it. work is so busy these days and so draining. right now all that i have to keep me going is my trip!

So here is my plan so far:

Whose going-
Me!
DH
KK-darling daugther 10-celebrating her birthday
PH-darling daughters BEST freind. Her birthday will be in Sept but this is her gift. Her parents are paying for her airfare. We are covering tickets, room, meals (free dining!) but her parents are providing us with spending money.


We leave on Aug 23rd. We have a room only reservation that night as we get in at 7:30pm. We will grab something to eat. DH will hit the hay and the girls and I will go explore DTD for a bit. each girl is going to have $100 on a gift card to use through out the part for souvies. KK will have a bit more money as her birthday is the day before and will have some disney dolalrs and a little cash. I am going to encourage her to use the gift card first.

Pretrip stuff-
We have never pin traded ebfore so i got some great pins on ebay and a starter set at the WOD store by my office. They will have about 20 pins each to trade. I could easily go nuts with more but i am going to refrain. if they want more or whatever they can trade and or spend their own money. a woman has to ahve limits.

I did say that i would buy them each 1 pin as a momento of the trip and i would also spend no more thatn $10 at one time to help them purchase a souvie.

Working on geting the packing list done. There is so much to do and i can not wait. it doesn't help that i can't stop to have a break frmo work. it's crazy here and i don't think that i love my job so that makes it even harder.

sadly i have discovered that i only have about 4 days worth of casual outfits. that is jsut not going to fly for a 7 night 6 day trip! so a little shopping trip is in order

Anything i can't forget to pack? send your suggestions!

I already have some glow sticks, necklaces, etc for our activities, camera is ready to go, we have walmart misting fans, i am sure there is tons more i ahve somewhere. it's just a matter of where...

Anyway, working on getting my park day schedule in place. I can't wait! More to come!

thanks for reading and this is really more for me. i just need to get my excitment out somehow. my coworkers are so over it.

Lara

 

[heaven2dc]

How exciting - leaving in little over a week!

The kids will love trading pins! My DBFF treated me to a lanyard (and I'm no kid!) and when I accomplished going on a ride, she had a pin waiting for me. I felt like a little kid lol but I never traded any (was too embarrassed).

Buyng the glow sticks ahead of time is a great idea! I wish I had done that on my first trip back in 1997 - I paid for glow wands for one of the parades and spent a fortune (and these were for adults in my party!) As far as packing clothes, if you are staying 1 week, I plan on at least 4 casual tops and pants/shorts, at least 2 different casual shoes (sometimes flip flops felt good, other times my tennies), maybe a couple semi-dressy tops/pants for upscale ADR's and couple different swimwear. Don't forget socks just in case your shoes hurt (yes even if you are wearing crocs - my daughter would just die if I wore crocs w/socks but I've had too many blisters happen even with my best shoes!) AND DON"T FORGET BAND AIDS OR MOLESKIN!

I helped plan my DBFF's daughter and grandson's trip (arrived on 08/06 and leaving today). I tried to rent points for their stay at Beach Club but couldn't get any ressie so booked directly thru Beach Club reservations and wow did that cost me an arm and leg lol (I let her pay me what it would have cost renting points and I made up the difference but it was so worth it for her first trip.)

I booked 2 ADR's for them (Teppan Edo on their second night for the grandson's birthday dinner) and the Spirit of Aloha dinner for Friday night. They ended up booking ADR's themselves for a couple other nights but think they ended up winging it as they went to the parks. Since this was her first stay, she had no clue that it was possible they wouldn't get into a sit-down restaurant for dinners but she decided to wing it (am waiting to hear what happened). I researched the park hours and sent them my suggestions on what days to visit the parks when least busy and at day 3 she called and said the suggestions were perfect. Also since they were staying on property, I encouraged them to take advantage of Early Magic Hours and Late Magic Hours.

I hope you have a magical vacation - I don't have too many suggestions other than if you are staying on property, take advantage of the parks opening early and staying open late. Take mid-day rests at the hotel (esp when traveling with little ones) and when making ADR's, be flexible - they can always be cancelled and just go with the flow. Have a great trip!

 

[jake&samsmom]

Hi Lara!

How are your ADR's looking? The reason I ask is that the girls may want to try Akershus in Norway. It is a pretty awesome character meal, great interaction with lots of Princesses! The dessert was great, but the main course was so-so -- but it is super fun, esp. for girls!

Also is it your DD's 1st visit too? Please get a Happy Bday and 1st visit button from your resort's front desk, or from guest services at the parks. Make sure you mention that its her Bday whenever you make your Dining ressies. They usually make it more special for the celebrant

Jen

 

[Simba22]

OMG I sooo hear you on the work thing! I feel like this place is draining the life out of me...and I have to wait over a year for my next Disney Trip!

Don't bring slippers! LOL this may seem strange but for some reason, I swore we would need slippers and we never wore them. But on the trip when I did NOT bring tweezers, lotion, or band-aids...that was the trip I actually needed them. Bring those things - they seem to ward off injuries...

Are you the kind of person who like to buy clothes at WDW? If so, then pack the clothes you have and don't bring anything else. I always buy t-shirts when I'm there and then I end up with 2 tons of extra clothes. And seriously...even if you aren't planning to buy clothes there, I would still limit the number of shorts/pants and wash them at the resort (this gives you a good excuse to visit the pool - you can swim while waiting for the laundry)! Shirts make a difference because people will see in your pictures if you're wearing the same shirts...but the shorts and pants won't make a difference

 

[luvfigment]

Count me in!! I know your pain on the snappy names for the TR, whenever I think I made a good one I see that is hasn't really worked.

Looking forward to seeing what else you have planned.

 

[Kitzka]

OKay, last week of work passed by in a totla blur. it was a bit busy and i am so excited we leave saturday! but there is so much to do between now and then.

I checked out some touring plans and am going to print some out. decided not to do my own since i don't relaly know what we will want to ride but at least if i have a plan to go with i can adjust as we go along.

I made ressies before we even knew for sure we were going to WdW. I made them at about 178 day mark and got everything I wanted but there is never enough time to eat everywhere. so here is what we have planned for meals:

Sat-arrival no ressies
Sun-dinner at Yak & Yeti
Mon-dinner at 1900 Parkfare (i wasn't sure if this was the right princess meal but i thought the girls would love the step sister interaction)
Tues-dinner at Chef Mickey's
Wed-dinner at Hollywood and Vine-fantasmic package
Thurs-Dinner at Coral Reef!!!!
Fri-Breakfast at Crystal Palace (our last day!)

I know i ahve a lot of buffets and normally i am not a buffet fan but my girls (as I will refer to them going forward) can be picky eaters and i want them to enjoy their meals and be able to encourage them to pick up a healthier choice. I can always sneak in a veggie or two on their plates

DH and i are most excited for COral reef. that was for us. funnily enough we don't eat fish or most seafood but DH is a big strip steak fan and i am all good with any shrimp or shellfish. am also thinking of clams....

I know h&V is not the best but honestly the choices in DHS are not as good as some of the other parks and as most of the resorts but DH did not want to eat at Primetime Cafe (he didn;t want to get scolded about not finishing his food and he's not about the "act") And we ate at Mama Melrose last time we were at Disney and wanted to try somewhere else. So we are going to H&V. I figure it's a buffet. Can it really be as bad as some on the resturant board say?

I also struggeld with having mostly dinners but i would rather have CS for lunch and sit down and enjoy dinner.

To answer a few questions:

we have been to disney two other times over the past 5 years. DD and DH spent a day at the world when I had a conference. that day ended badly as i got a call that my dad had a heart attack and we had to cut our trip short (as an aside my dad is fine and has recoverd quite well.)

Being the irrational being my dad is, he felt guilty for cutting DD's first trip short. So he always promised DD that he would send her back one day to use up those unused tickets (when she was there at 5 DH and she only went to the world).

Last year DD's dance team performed at the world and we were able to spend 3 days there. It was my first trip since i was 15! My dad paid her way there and this was the 'make up' for the one that was cut short.

But because of the dance thing, DD was unable to go to Animal kingdom. she loves animals and it was a shame that she had to miss it. back in april when i learned that there would be a economic stimulus package, DD's 10th birthday, a small bonus at work and free dining starting 2 days afer DD's birthday?! well then we were destined to go again weren't we?

So, we booked and now we are like 7 days away and i am so excited!!!

Since i have to dress up for work i am going to do all of the laundry and pack my clothes as well as DD's. Friday (off from work) will be spent packing DH's clothes and anything else.

Thanks again! i am so excited!

Lara