Pre-Trip WE HAVE TO GO BACK! (April 2016)

Wow.

Well, this is quite a surprise!

We JUST got back from Disney on 9/26!! I hadn't been in ten years, and honestly didn't expect to be back for quite some time, but as luck would have it, it looks like we are going to be back in just SIX SHORT MONTHS!! I'm seriously still kind of in shock!

So here is a bit of back story to explain..My co worker has told me that her and her significant other are going to start trying for a baby...right now. I'm totally cool with this except that we normally vacation in September, and really any way it plays out if she were to be successful in the new few months, it would mean no vacation or any time off for me for up to 3 months. We always go to the beach, and so my brain started racking. We could go in early spring, but no, too cold, and basically it just went like that and me calculating out how many months from each month and blah blah. It got overwhelming. I knew that no matter what, I'd be pretty safe in April or May but it's not warm enough for the beach. Disney briefly came to mind but I thought "no way will i be able to talk my husband into going back this soon!" So all day today I looked up prices with the help of my mom (remember, she planned out entire vacation!) and I came home in hopes of trying to convince my husband that I think this is the best thing to do in regards to the uncertainty of my coworker being out next year. It didn't take much convincing! He was surprised that we could stay for as cheap as we could and that was it! We decided we are going to do it! I am giddy like a school girl!

I LOVE my beach trips, and the fact that I'm so excited about this is a bit surprising! So that's that! This is SUPER early in the planning process (and that step is OMG i'm still in shock!) and I know all of almost NOTHING right now except that we will be staying in a Value this time around since we are footing the bill. LOL

Anyway, that's all I've got right now. I honestly can't believe it! Stick around!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Hello everyone!

Planning for our trip has slowed down for the time being. We’ve made ADR’s and are still a LONG way from FP choices, so we are kind of just hanging out. We only have about 5.5 months, and that’s really hard to believe!

A month or so ago, I did order some of the Disney planning DVD’s (hoping for a pin code.. I know there is no method to it, but I was trying) and it showed up last night, so we watched it. Harper loved it too. We are now really really wanting to do a cruise in a few years when Harper is a bit older. I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do a cruise, but no one else in my family wanted to. My husband is down for it, so maybe in a few years we can plan for one! We’d want to do a 7 night one, and that’d likely be our whole vacation. I wish we could visit WDW too, but doubt we could afford it. Anyway, it’s something we are thinking about right now!

One thing I’m trying to think ahead with for this upcoming trip is breakfast! We brought NO food with us the last time, and it was kind of a pain to have to go to the food court EVERY meal when we weren’t in the parks. In the interest of saving money, I think we should bring some sort of breakfast meal with us, but then I think “heck! We’re in Disney! Let’s eat mickey waffles every day!” so… there’s that. I’ll probably still bring some food we can eat, but plan on eating a LOT of Disney food like we did the last trip. I am looking forward to a bigger food court this time. The Mara was pretty tiny and would get REALLY busy!

 

[catmom46]

Hello everyone!

Planning for our trip has slowed down for the time being. We’ve made ADR’s and are still a LONG way from FP choices, so we are kind of just hanging out. We only have about 5.5 months, and that’s really hard to believe!

A month or so ago, I did order some of the Disney planning DVD’s (hoping for a pin code.. I know there is no method to it, but I was trying) and it showed up last night, so we watched it. Harper loved it too. We are now really really wanting to do a cruise in a few years when Harper is a bit older. I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do a cruise, but no one else in my family wanted to. My husband is down for it, so maybe in a few years we can plan for one! We’d want to do a 7 night one, and that’d likely be our whole vacation. I wish we could visit WDW too, but doubt we could afford it. Anyway, it’s something we are thinking about right now!

One thing I’m trying to think ahead with for this upcoming trip is breakfast! We brought NO food with us the last time, and it was kind of a pain to have to go to the food court EVERY meal when we weren’t in the parks. In the interest of saving money, I think we should bring some sort of breakfast meal with us, but then I think “heck! We’re in Disney! Let’s eat mickey waffles every day!” so… there’s that. I’ll probably still bring some food we can eat, but plan on eating a LOT of Disney food like we did the last trip. I am looking forward to a bigger food court this time. The Mara was pretty tiny and would get REALLY busy!

Eating a lot of Disney food is the plan for my next trip, too!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Eating a lot of Disney food is the plan for my next trip, too!

When in Rome... right?

 

[Mom@disney]

We have ordered breakfast and snack items and water from Garden Grocer when we fly down to Disney. And it really helps. We can have a quick bite to eat while we are each getting ready and it keeps costs down, but we still have a couple of table service breakfasts to get our Mickey Waffles!

 

[Frontier21]

Oh yes..

Cast: Myself -- Brittany
My Husband - AJ
Our daughter - Harper (who be 23 months on this trip!)

Where: Most likely Pop Century

When: 4/23/16-4/30/16

Six day Park Hopper Tickets!!

We just went in October and are making plans to go the same week. I can't wait.
OOps. Going 4/2 to 4/9.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

We just went in October and are making plans to go the same week. I can't wait.
OOps. Going 4/2 to 4/9.

Still, very close to our trips!!! Awesome!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

We have ordered breakfast and snack items and water from Garden Grocer when we fly down to Disney. And it really helps. We can have a quick bite to eat while we are each getting ready and it keeps costs down, but we still have a couple of table service breakfasts to get our Mickey Waffles!

This is something I want to look into! I just don't know what to get since you really only have a tiny fridge! What type of things do you order?

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to check in! Not much going on in the way of Disney right now! We are very busy with the holidays that I haven't even had time to think about it! I can't believe we only have 4 months left until we are back! We are trying to decide if we want to drive it all in one day on the way to Disney, or split it up like we did last time! I just can't decide. The good thing about doing it all in one shot, is that I save myself a vacation day at work. *sigh* decisions decisions.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Hey!!

We are heading back next Summer and also have the dilemma of driving straight through or stopping for the night. In the past when we drove we always stopped about 3/4 of the way down but this time I think were going to try leaving around 3am instead of waiting until 7am hoping that the extra daylight hours will help keep us awake. Plus it helps that my daughter is driving so that's three of us that can trade off.

 

[Figgy1]

We've already booked the hotel so we can split the driving on our way down next august. We'll hit the road between 5 and 6 am that way it will be mostly daylight driving. hope that helps

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Well, I'm pretty sure we've come to a decision. We are going to take Friday off (the day before we arrive to Disney) and leave at 8am. This year, I worked a half a day on departure day, and it was HARD! It also didn't put us on the road until almost 2pm. So, leaving at 8am and driving 12 hours will put us around 8pm. We will stop, and rest. This is just about the time our daughter goes to bed, so this will be nice with keeping her schedule! It also means that my husband and I will ALSO get a FULL night's worth of sleep!

If you remember from my trip report, we didn't stop until 1:30 am and Harper woke up at 6:30 leaving us with only 5 hours of sleep. So this seems like the best way for us ALL to be rested the next morning. We could probably be on the road again by 8am, and hopefully pulling on to Disney property around lunch time!

We will then just take the day to check out POP, or maybe shoot over to Disney Springs for something to do!

 

[lostpro9het]

Well, I'm pretty sure we've come to a decision. We are going to take Friday off (the day before we arrive to Disney) and leave at 8am.

Disney Vacation Creep, the struggle is real!

 

[Figgy1]

Taking the day off is a great idea. We take the day before we leave to do last minute errands including my mani pedi. We get home and pack the car so we can be on the road before 6am. When my kids were little we left at 9 or 10 pm and my kids slept all the way to NC

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Happy New Year Everyone!

Now that we are into January, vacation seems like it's coming at an alarmingly fast rate! We are now 95 days out! I could actually call it 94 since we are leaving the day before we arrive! I may actually change my countdown if I ever think about it. One day closer is always better!

I've also started my new "Disney pile". This is a little box of things I lay aside for vacation so I don't forget about them. The very first item was a waterproof pouch I got for my phone on Christmas! It certainly cannot hurt. I keep having flashbacks to September when DH and I were in Uni and got on Jurassic Park and walked off SOAKED. Everything was soaked. Luckily I had a little Ziploc back with me and my phone was safe. Whew.

Soon, I will go shopping for some shirts/tanks for vacation too. I don't want to be in the same clothes as our last vacation! hehe

I was slightly worried at first that only 6 months between our Disney trips might not be enough for our daughter, but it's amazing just how much she has changed in three months. In three more months, we will taking a completely different child to Disney with us.
She LOVES frozen, and any time she see's them says "ELSA!" It's pretty cute.

I'm super excited for this vacation, and I'm looking forward to seeing POP Century.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Helllllllo!!!

We are getting so close! Only 74 days between now and our trip!

**BIG UPDATE!**
So... we've switched resorts!! LOL.
My mom and Stepdad are staying at CBR, and we were at Pop. It seemed so odd, us being there at the same time, but at completely different resorts, and so I talked with my mom and they said if we wanted to upgrade, they'd pay half of the difference to upgrade. This was actually a very hard offer to turn down, so we talked to our travel agent yesterday and made the move!

We are now staying at CBR in a King Room (YAY KING BED!) and will be at the same resort as my parents. I think it will be nice. They go to Disney so much that it's always helpful to be with them because they know how to get around a lot better than we do!
I'm starting to get really excited about the trip! Even though it's only been about 4 months since we were just there, it's now starting to get exciting again!
We know for sure, that we won't be back after this trip until November of 2018 (yes, it's already planned!) so we are going to make sure we take everything in! (and enjoy Harper being Free!!)

 

[Figgy1]

Helllllllo!!!

We are getting so close! Only 74 days between now and our trip!

**BIG UPDATE!**
So... we've switched resorts!! LOL.
My mom and Stepdad are staying at CBR, and we were at Pop. It seemed so odd, us being there at the same time, but at completely different resorts, and so I talked with my mom and they said if we wanted to upgrade, they'd pay half of the difference to upgrade. This was actually a very hard offer to turn down, so we talked to our travel agent yesterday and made the move!

We are now staying at CBR in a King Room (YAY KING BED!) and will be at the same resort as my parents. I think it will be nice. They go to Disney so much that it's always helpful to be with them because they know how to get around a lot better than we do!
I'm starting to get really excited about the trip! Even though it's only been about 4 months since we were just there, it's now starting to get exciting again!
We know for sure, that we won't be back after this trip until November of 2018 (yes, it's already planned!) so we are going to make sure we take everything in! (and enjoy Harper being Free!!)

Congrats!

 

[Zipadeelady]

Whoo Hoo for upgrades!!!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Yay!! Hopefully you like CBR as much as we do. Did you get a preferred room or a standard? If you got a standard, be sure to request Jamaica or Aruba near the bridge so you will be closer to the pool and food! It will be here before you know it!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Yay!! Hopefully you like CBR as much as we do. Did you get a preferred room or a standard? If you got a standard, be sure to request Jamaica or Aruba near the bridge so you will be closer to the pool and food! It will be here before you know it!

I think it's just standard right now! Yes, we need request that as it'd be nice to be close to the food!

 

[ScarletBegonias]

FASTPASS DAY!!!!! (well, at midnight)
That means we are 60 days out from vacation! It hardly seems real to think that we are going back already! Admittedly, we've been preoccupied and haven't really been focusing on it too much because until about an hour ago, I didn't even have my FP+'s PICKED! I'm such a slacker. ( I didn't do it on our last trip, my Mom did them all) so I had no idea how much thought went into them! you have to know where you will be what day, when you have any ADR's, ect. Whoops!

Now I have to set an alarm for midnight because I need to get a FP for the Anna & Elsa Meet and Greet because Harper is obsessed!

Man, Disney planning is hardcore!