The Past, Present, and Future...an Oct. 2011 PTR

Hi everyone! You all have inspired me to try my hand at a PTR (and hopefully a TR when we return). I feel like I already know a lot of you from reading your reports and your responses back and forth to each other. So, let me introduce myself and my family (the Present part of my title). My name is Amy. I am 37 and a small animal veterinarian. I love to read and scrapbook when I can find time. I have always loved Mickey Mouse, which then led to my love of most things Disney. Here is a picture of me with our youngest son, Owen.

My husband is Brian. He is also 37 and he works at one of our local Best Buys. He loves playing video games and watching sports on TV (especially if it involves his beloved Atlanta Falcons or Louisville Cardinals). He is not so much the Disney enthusiast, but he tolerates my passion for it very well. Here is a picture of him with our daughter, Lily.

My oldest son is Logan. He is 8 and in the third grade. He also loves to read, but he's also really into video games. His current Disney obsession is Phineas and Ferb. Here is a picture of him and Lily from the first day of school.

My daughter is Lily. She is 6 and in the first grade. She's not so much the reader, but she does really love playing video games. Yeah!! (said very sarcastically!) She doesn't have any one favorite Disney character. She loves all of the princesses and Minnie.
My youngest son is Owen. He is 3 and will start preschool this week. His current Disney obsession is Lightning McQueen and Francesco. His true love right now is Star Wars, especially Boba Fett. It breaks my heart every time he asks me if he'll get to see Boba in WDW and I have to tell him no. Here is a recent picture of him at Kings Island.

Up next...the Past part of my title.

 

[TheMouseFan]

Saturday, 10/15

We are planning on spending the day at Animal Kingdom today.

We will start the morning with an 8:45 ADR at Rainforest Cafe. Normally I am not a huge fan of RC, but we love their breakfast. The waffles are large enough that they can be divided among several people and they have a good variety. I absolutely loved their Tonga Toast last time we ate there.

Our plan is to spend the entire day at AK, but if the kids get too tired, then we will head back to the room for a break.

We will then be heading over to AKL to explore the resort and make our 5:45pm ADR at Boma.

We'll then head back and make it an early evening.

 

[TheMouseFan]

Sunday, 10/16

Today is our DHS day.

We start with a 9:00 ADR at Hollywood and Vine. This will probably be the last time we do this character meal as the older two kids are already past the Disney Junior stage.

We will just play it by ear whether we take an afternoon break or not. I know the kids would like to see the parade, but I want us to be able to stay and see Fantasmic.

Not sure what we'll do for our other two meals. I'm sure the kids will want to eat at Pizza Planet, so that will probably be one of them.

All three kids are looking forward to Star Tours, especially Owen. Unfortunately, he is not quite old enough to do the Jedi Academy. Maybe he'll settle for watching Logan do it.

 

[TheMouseFan]

Monday, 10/17

Today is Epcot day.

We plan to be there for rope drop and do Future World in the morning before our reservation at 11:30 at Innoventions West for the AAA Storytime Experience.

We will then head over to World Showcase for our 12:50 ADR at LeCellier. This will be our first time eating here and we are all excited.

Then depending on the kids, we will either continue around WS, or we will head back to Innoventions West for our Disney Visa meet and greet before heading back to the room for a break. If we head out, hopefully we will return for Illuminations.

 

[TheMouseFan]

Tuesday, 10/18

Today is our BIG day!

We start out with an 8:20 ADR at CRT. We plan on entering the park as early as possible to try to get some empty Main Street pictures. I also want to hit City Hall as early as possible to try to get my father to be able to participate in the flag retreat.

We'll then tour the MK that morning and get a counter service lunch, probably at Columbia Harbor House, and then head back to the room for a nap and/or swim.

We then will return to the MK for the flag retreat and our 5:45 ADR at Crystal Palace.

Then we will spend the evening at MNSSHP!! We are all super excited about this.

 

[TheMouseFan]

Wednesday, 10/19

Today we will return to DHS. I would like to be there for rope drop, but if the kids need to sleep in after the party last night, then we will let them.

We just have to be there in time for our 11:20 ADR at Sci-Fi Dine-In. We aren't expecting anything fabulous here based on all of the reviews, but the kids saw pictures and begged to try it.

Not sure if we will spend the afternoon here or hit another park. We'll have to see what everyone feels like doing.

 

[TheMouseFan]

Thursday, 10/20

We plan to be at AK for rope drop to see the welcome show, then race over to Tusker House for our 9:20 ADR.

We will then do KS and EE again, as well as anything else that someone wants to repeat. Then we will head over to Epcot or MK for the afternoon and evening.

 

[TheMouseFan]

Friday, 10/21

We will start our day with 8am ADRs at O'Hana. This was Brian's favorite character meal last time because of the juice they serve!

We will then head over to MK for our Family Magic Tour at 10am.

Then we will spend the rest of the day at MK. We likely will end up elsewhere for the evening as there is another MNSSHP that night. It all depends on how tired the kids are.

 

[TheMouseFan]

Saturday, 10/22

Sadly, this is departure day. Luckily, our flight doesn't leave until 8:39pm. So we get another almost full day in the parks.

We will likely end up at MK or DHS, or maybe both. We'll see what the kids want to do again the most.

 

[TheMouseFan]

So, I just realized that when my itinerary didn't show up, nor did my introduction. So let me back up for a moment and set the scene for you...

Brian and I decided last fall that we would take a trip to WDW this year. We debated and decided to take the kids out of school so we could enjoy hopefully cooler weather, hopefully smaller crowds, and the Halloween decorations. We couldn't decide how or when to tell them. Brian took it into his own hands by getting me Mickey Mouse luggage for Christmas. When I opened the box, there was a card that said.."Mommy, please take us to Disney". So we told them about the trip. They were super excited to say the least! Shortly after Christmas, my mom and dad (Nanny and Papaw) decided they would like to go with us and pay for the whole trip. Now I was really excited!!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Packing

We are at 20 days!!! I started packing today. I have been gathering things for awhile, but I actually got one of the suitcases out today and started putting things in it. I have started with the Halloween items. I packed the costumes for the kids and their Halloween tshirts I got for them from DisneyStore.com. I also found a really cute Mickey and Minnie Halloween shirt for myself at Target.

It's such an awesome feeling when the trip is close enough to start packing!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Photopass CD

I just placed my pre-purchase order for the Photopass CD and the Memories Photo Book. I plan to use the Photopass CMs to the fullest this trip. I usually only end up with pictures of the kids and very few of Brian and myself. This is the first time we have done the CD. Hopefully it works out well, as I hope to use the photo book for part of my parent's Christmas gift. It will be nice to be able to get pics with all 7 of us in them.

Only 18 more days!!

 

[TheMouseFan]

15days!!! To say I'm excited is quite the understatement!

All the cold, rainy weather we have been getting here in Ohio has made me that much more anxious to get there! It has also motivated me to pack more, starting with our swimming gear and our shorts. I'm thinking we won't be needing those anymore until the trip.

Here is a picture of the kids' Halloween costumes they will be wearing to MNSSHP:

Here are the Halloween t-shirts 4 of the 5 of us will be wearing. Brian wants nothing to do with this!

We all got new shirts of our favorite characters to wear on the flight down:

I also starting packing my backpack that I will carry with me in the parks every day. Including these that I made for the kids:

 

[TheMouseFan]

Online check in

I just finished doing online check in for both of our rooms! That means only 10 more days!!!! I can't wait!

Today is my day off from work, so I plan to get most of the packing done that I can. Some of the clothes will have to wait until next week since we will be wearing them before the trip, but everything else should get packed today.

I also emailed my kids' teachers to remind them and they said they would be sending some work home with them next week to complete while we are gone. Lily's teacher was funny. She said she would send a few books for her to read on the airplane, but her main homework assignment would be to say Hi! to Mickey for her. She is also a huge Disney fan.

I know the weather forecast changes quickly, but I'm starting to get nervous. I've been checking AccuWeather's extended forecast and it is saying humid and rain Friday through Tuesday (which is the last day they show so far)!! I don't mind an occasional shower, but come on! Part of the reason we chose October was because it is supposed to be the month with the fewest days of rain. Guess we'll just have to wait and see!

 

[Todd L]

15days!!! To say I'm excited is quite the understatement!

All the cold, rainy weather we have been getting here in Ohio has made me that much more anxious to get there! It has also motivated me to pack more, starting with our swimming gear and our shorts. I'm thinking we won't be needing those anymore until the trip.

Here is a picture of the kids' Halloween costumes they will be wearing to MNSSHP:

Here are the Halloween t-shirts 4 of the 5 of us will be wearing. Brian wants nothing to do with this!

We all got new shirts of our favorite characters to wear on the flight down:

I also starting packing my backpack that I will carry with me in the parks every day. Including these that I made for the kids:

We hit a pretty good sale at The Disney store on Halloween t's . 2 for $20. Youll never get a sale like that on property!! We also picked up two small reusable shopping bags with Jack Skellington on them so The kids can use them to Trick or treat at Mnsshp!!

 

[TheMouseFan]

We hit a pretty good sale at The Disney store on Halloween t's . 2 for $20. Youll never get a sale like that on property!! We also picked up two small reusable shopping bags with Jack Skellington on them so The kids can use them to Trick or treat at Mnsshp!!

I got the kids shirts when they had them 2 for $20 online! Certainly can't beat that. We went to Meijer's and got reusable trick or treat bags for our kids. Have a great trip!!!

 

[kstella]

Have a great time!! It's much easier to make travel arrangements when kids are small. I have a son in college(in another state no less!) and a daughter who is a junior in high school and trying to plan around their vacations is proving tricky. My daughter's high school has an online set-up where the teachers post daily class notes and assignment so it will make her missing school much easier when we go in January.

 

[TheMouseFan]

Have a great time!! It's much easier to make travel arrangements when kids are small. I have a son in college(in another state no less!) and a daughter who is a junior in high school and trying to plan around their vacations is proving tricky. My daughter's high school has an online set-up where the teachers post daily class notes and assignment so it will make her missing school much easier when we go in January.

Thanks for reading. I'm sure we will have a great time!! It is difficult enough when the kids are young, I can't imagine with kids the age of yours. I'm thinking we will probably not be able to go during the school year again.

Have a great trip yourself!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Almost home

4 days from now at this time, we will be finishing dinner with Mickey!!

The waiting is killing me! Everything is packed except the few last minute things that will go in the suitcases bright and early Friday morning. I don't even know how many times my parents have called with last minute questions. I think they are as excited as the kids!! The kids were arguing the other night about who was the most excited to go, and my husband declared that there was no way that anyone was more excited than Mommy! What can I say!?!

I keep watching the weather forecast and I still don't know what to expect. One day they will say sunshine every day, then the next day they will say rain every day, now they are saying sun every day but 2. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed. At least it will be warm with the rain. It is supposed to start raining and get colder here in Ohio just as we are leaving.

Did I mention that we leave in less than 4 days?

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

So jealous!! In exactly one month, we will be there!! Say hi to Mickey for me!! :wave: I'm ready to start packing now!! lol You guys will have a GREAT time!!! Honestly, I think sometimes the adults are the most excited for these trips!!! :lol:

 

[TheMouseFan]

So jealous!! In exactly one month, we will be there!! Say hi to Mickey for me!! :wave: I'm ready to start packing now!! lol You guys will have a GREAT time!!! Honestly, I think sometimes the adults are the most excited for these trips!!! :lol:

We will be sure to say hi to Mickey and everyone else for you!! I didn't start packing quite that early, but I was certainly starting to gather things! In this case, the adults certainly are more excited. My parents haven't been in 21 years and I can't wait to go back. The kids are definitely excited, but it's still kind of an abstract idea to them. Logan only remembers bits and pieces of the last trip, Lily really doesn't remember anything, and Owen was in utero, so he knows nothing of what to expect, so their excitement is just based on our excitement! I can't wait to see their reactions when we get there!!