From this... to..this

[Alison1975]

We made our countdown with about 200 days to go..this is what it looked like:

and now this:

Yep.. vacation is CLOSE now!! ( just need my darn Mickey Mail!)

 

[experiment624]

Yeah. She is pretty much the polar opposite of every one here. She thinks it's crazy that anyone would have a countdown. She's opposed to planning in any form. And yet, if anything goes awry at any point during the trip, she will be furious with me for my poor planning.

Last time she was mad at me when it rained.

but aren't husbands supposed to control the weather for us wives? I would be very upset if my husband let it rain on our vacation.

Maybe call disney florist and "plan" an extra special surprise for your next visit.

 

[Alison1975]

Yeah. She is pretty much the polar opposite of every one here. She thinks it's crazy that anyone would have a countdown. She's opposed to planning in any form. And yet, if anything goes awry at any point during the trip, she will be furious with me for my poor planning.

Last time she was mad at me when it rained.

Dude..i feel for ya then..lol

 

[Alison1975]

Oh wow I love your idea! We are so going to copy you!!

feel free!

 

[lebeau]

but aren't husbands supposed to control the weather for us wives? I would be very upset if my husband let it rain on our vacation.

Maybe call disney florist and "plan" an extra special surprise for your next visit.

With Mindy, it's cupcakes. I plan to carry around a box and stuff one in her mouth whenever something goes awry. Like clouds, lines or having to ride a bus. Even if they don't improve her mood, her mouth will be too full to complain.

Dude..i feel for ya then..lol

You have no idea. But at least the kids are going to enjoy counting down to the trip.

 

[Alison1975]

With Mindy, it's cupcakes. I plan to carry around a box and stuff one in her mouth whenever something goes awry. Like clouds, lines or having to ride a bus. Even if they don't improve her mood, her mouth will be too full to complain.



You have no idea. But at least the kids are going to enjoy counting down to the trip.

Oh my on the cupcakes.. LMAO.. and yep..as long as the kids are happy thats all that matters. I was prepared for my hubby to be like that last year. he did NOT want to go to Disney..grumpled on the money spent etc ( I paid for the whole trip working my off bartending)..we got into MK and he saw the queue for Buzz and that was it..he was hooked. Thank GOODNESS. This trip was more his idea and he's work his butt off on OT to pay for it..LOL

 

[lebeau]

I took a picture on my phone this morning, but it didn't turn out. I'll have to take another picture tonight.

Mindy took the girls out to dinner after picking them up. So I had a little time to myself. I stopped by Walgreen and picked up my pictures. Then I raced home, glued them to the poster board and covered them up with pre-numbered Post-Its.

I didn't know how many pictures I would need to cover the poster board. So I ordered 30. I had 6 left over. I didn't use any pictures of the girls because they were all over two years old. Plus, we've seen them 100 times. I have used them for photo calendars over the years. To build the anticipation I used pictures of things we would do during the trip. Things I knew the girls were looking forward to.

Mindy and the girls got home. She saw the spare pictures on the table. I had left them out for the girls to look at. The first thing Mindy says when she gets home is "Are you kidding me? You didn't even use pictures of the girls?" So, that took the wind out of my sails a little bit.

I explained my whole "building anticipation" theory and that the pictures were of things we would do on the trip. I said I thought the girls would have fun revealing the pictures a little at a time leading up to the trip.

Mindy said, "I hope this little project turns out half as well as you think it will. Because I think it's stupid. The girls are going to fight about it every night and Kara's going to want to peel off a bunch at a time."

Long story short, the girls were looking forward to pulling off the Post Its all night. We made it part of their bed time routine. They had fun doing it. I stuck a couple of blank Post Its on the board so Kara could pull off more than one. So three of us enjoyed it quite a bit.

Tonight, I may stop on my way home for a box of cupcakes.

 

[Alison1975]

I took a picture on my phone this morning, but it didn't turn out. I'll have to take another picture tonight.

Mindy took the girls out to dinner after picking them up. So I had a little time to myself. I stopped by Walgreen and picked up my pictures. Then I raced home, glued them to the poster board and covered them up with pre-numbered Post-Its.

I didn't know how many pictures I would need to cover the poster board. So I ordered 30. I had 6 left over. I didn't use any pictures of the girls because they were all over two years old. Plus, we've seen them 100 times. I have used them for photo calendars over the years. To build the anticipation I used pictures of things we would do during the trip. Things I knew the girls were looking forward to.

Mindy and the girls got home. She saw the spare pictures on the table. I had left them out for the girls to look at. The first thing Mindy says when she gets home is "Are you kidding me? You didn't even use pictures of the girls?" So, that took the wind out of my sails a little bit.

I explained my whole "building anticipation" theory and that the pictures were of things we would do on the trip. I said I thought the girls would have fun revealing the pictures a little at a time leading up to the trip.

Mindy said, "I hope this little project turns out half as well as you think it will. Because I think it's stupid. The girls are going to fight about it every night and Kara's going to want to peel off a bunch at a time."

Long story short, the girls were looking forward to pulling off the Post Its all night. We made it part of their bed time routine. They had fun doing it. I stuck a couple of blank Post Its on the board so Kara could pull off more than one. So three of us enjoyed it quite a bit.

Tonight, I may stop on my way home for a box of cupcakes.

Sounds cute! I only used one or 2 pics of my kids..the rest are all of things to do and such at Disney. Mine do really well with taking their turn each morning. I would suggest a cupcake ATM installed in your garage..just sayin..

 

[lebeau]

Sounds cute! I only used one or 2 pics of my kids..the rest are all of things to do and such at Disney. Mine do really well with taking their turn each morning. I would suggest a cupcake ATM installed in your garage..just sayin..

The kids really enjoyed it. I had a few extra Post Its for the first day since I had rows of 7 and 73 is not evenly divisible by 7. So they revealed a few images yesterday. One was Wendy from Peter Pan's flight. One was Jessie, one of Josie's favorite characters. And the other was 1/2 of Pluto. Each reveal was greeted with excitement.

Based on Mindy's incredibly sour reaction, I figured dinner had gone badly. I asked. It went fine. She was in a good mood last night in every regard except for the trip count down which inexplicably p!ssed her off for some reason.

Unfortunately, cupcakes won't help with that. She dislikes Disney and planning. So planning for a Disney trip just sets her off. I've got no explanation really.

 

[Alison1975]

The kids really enjoyed it. I had a few extra Post Its for the first day since I had rows of 7 and 73 is not evenly divisible by 7. So they revealed a few images yesterday. One was Wendy from Peter Pan's flight. One was Jessie, one of Josie's favorite characters. And the other was 1/2 of Pluto. Each reveal was greeted with excitement.

Based on Mindy's incredibly sour reaction, I figured dinner had gone badly. I asked. It went fine. She was in a good mood last night in every regard except for the trip count down which inexplicably p!ssed her off for some reason.

Unfortunately, cupcakes won't help with that. She dislikes Disney and planning. So planning for a Disney trip just sets her off. I've got no explanation really.

I cant even fathom not liking Disney...

 

[lebeau]

I cant even fathom not liking Disney...

Yeah, if she ever started posting here (which she would never, ever do because in addition to hating Disney she hates internet forums) she would be banned within 3 posts. Her mindset is very different from most people around here.

It makes trips and anything related to them very challenging.

Who would have guessed a simple count-down could elicit such a reaction?

 

[Alison1975]

Yeah, if she ever started posting here (which she would never, ever do because in addition to hating Disney she hates internet forums) she would be banned within 3 posts. Her mindset is very different from most people around here.

It makes trips and anything related to them very challenging.

Who would have guessed a simple count-down could elicit such a reaction?

I can't even begin to imagine. My hubby was anti-Disney last year..but not vocal about it.. once there he fell in love.. if he didn't I'd be planning a trip for 6 not 7.. and he knows it.LOL

 

[lebeau]

I can't even begin to imagine. My hubby was anti-Disney last year..but not vocal about it.. once there he fell in love.. if he didn't I'd be planning a trip for 6 not 7.. and he knows it.LOL

We have talked about me taking a solo trip. But I couldn't go and not bring the kids. And if I bring the kids, Mindy couldn't miss them having fun. So she feels compelled to go.

I have offered to let her hang back at the hotel from time to time and rest while I take the kids to the parks. Or go get a spa treatment. Basically, whatever she wants to do. But again, she feels like she'd miss out on the kids having fun. So that doesn't fly.

She'll have fun for a while. There are things she enjoys (see also: cupcakes). But the second anything goes wrong, hell hath no fury. Even if it is something totally beyond my control.

Fortunately, we're traveling with my mom this time. So I think that will keep Mindy in check for the duration of this trip. But there is a very real possibility that this will be the last one for a long, long time because Mindy doesn't enjoy Disney vacations. That's part of why I am doing things up with the countdown, etc. If it's not our last hurrah, it's probably the last one for several years.

 

[JIMINYCR]

apparently the 10 year old counted and it will be his turn on Day 1.. but he already decided they are all going to do it together!

Give that boy and extra hug for being so nice to his siblings.

 

[Alison1975]

Give that boy and extra hug for being so nice to his siblings.

Of course.. he usually is though..sweet heart that one is

 

[Wendy517]

With Mindy, it's cupcakes. I plan to carry around a box and stuff one in her mouth whenever something goes awry. Like clouds, lines or having to ride a bus. Even if they don't improve her mood, her mouth will be too full to complain.


You have no idea. But at least the kids are going to enjoy counting down to the trip.

I'm so sorry she can't get excited about your upcoming trip. Maybe she should have her own countdown...to cupcakes!

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/wdw-cupcake-crawl-shirts-maps-and-checklist.841183/

Complete with a special t-shirt, cupcake poster and maps on where to find them. Perhaps that would sweeten her disposition.

 

[lebeau]

I'm so sorry she can't get excited about your upcoming trip. Maybe she should have her own countdown...to cupcakes!

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/wdw-cupcake-crawl-shirts-maps-and-checklist.841183/

Complete with a special t-shirt, cupcake poster and maps on where to find them. Perhaps that would sweeten her disposition.

I don't want to hi-jack Alison's thread (although I think I am developing a reputation for doing exactly that) but Mindy doesn't like any of the cupcakes on that list. She has very specific tastes which do not include what she considers to be "fancy" cupcakes.

She likes the chocolate cupcakes with white frosting that we had at the Port Orleans Riverside food court. Earlier this summer, we had a fight that lasted weeks because she realized that since we weren't staying at Port Orleans, we would not have these cupcakes at the ready. I offered to switch resorts or hail a cab to pick up the cupcakes. But the damange had already been done.

There really is no winning where my wife is concerned with regards to Disney World. Even the mention of it sets her off.

As an update, the kids have been enjoying the countdown so far. And there have been no fights. If Kara wants to take off more than one Post It, I just put a few extras on so she can remove as many as she likes.

 

[Mrs Potato Head]

that is such a great idea! My DD just turned 3 and we've already taken her twice to WDW but I don't think she would have gotten the countdown calendar before. We're returning in Jan (still waiting for the discounts to come out to book) but as soon as we do I'm making one of these for her bedroom door.

 

[flipadeeflop]

I really like this idea! I might have to do this!!!!