Pre-Trip Rituals

[ShookieJones]

Anyone have any strange pre trip rituals?

We’re getting ready for your yearly May trip (5 more days!!!) and I just realized what a nut I am.

1.I let my hair grow longer than normal (miss a couple of haircuts) and then the day before we leave I ‘treat’ my self with a high and tight cut.

2.Save up all our soda, water and beer cans all year and the week before we go I cash them all in so that I have “airport” money for the trip down.

3.With the exception of 1 year I always buy a new pair of sneakers especially for our WDW trip

4. I wait until the last day before we leave to mow my lawn.

5. Spend every waking moment on these boards getting all my last minute details so
I’m in the know before I go.

There are a few others, but I’m afraid if I list anymore you guys might have me committed. :lookaroun

 

[micknminnie]

I can't say that I do anything that strange but study these boards and check the weather a million times a day. We leave in 11 days and I've already started with the weather bit. Enjoy your trip!!

 

[mamamouse]

Well you know how alot of moms do the countdown calendars with their kids (with either squares or stickers) I do countdowns with my kids also but in a different way,once a week(usually on the weekend) we do a Disney Day to celebrate how much closer we've come to the actual day here are some examples of things we've done:
1-disney movie night
2-make an ear hat
3-decorate a foam purse(michaels has them in the shape of a coach and they have wands aswell)
4-do a scrapbook page
5-make a disney recipe
and when it gets closer to time we do stuff to prepare more,such as making sure our Disney pez dispensers are full,buying Disney snacks(you'd be surprised how many disney themed treats you can find in grocery or dollar stores)filling goodie bags(when we are actually at Disney I make sure that everyday the kids have new goody bags),I put things in it like a small notepad n pen,some stickers,and little toys n snacks I have Disney OCD I even theme their snacks to match where we are going,they know by now that Epcot day is always where they have their goldfish crackers lol

 

[bmarkelon]

Nothing stresses me out more than packing for Disney, especially now that I have to pack for me and the 3 kiddos. The DH has it made just packing for himself. So I spend a lot of time freaking out and going over my checklists a million times, we now ship our luggage ahead of us which helped some.
I set up our Garden Grocer order.
I try to clean up our house so it's spotless and nice to come home too. This includes the fridge.
Obviously spend alOt of time on these boards.
Go over our trip itinerary some more even though it's already been pretty much set to go for a few months.
And I can never get any sleep the night before our typical early morning flight.

 

[mamamouse]

Yeah I go nuts reading the boards constant and watching youtube vids of the rides and basically re writing my itinerary as many times as i can lol

 

[disneygirl76]

Oh I don't think those are weird at all! You're fine! It's all excitement and prep prep prep! I start packing about a month ahead of time. And I make spreadsheets and analyze them and the boards of course. I also get a new pair of converse before each trip.

Have a great trip! :sohappy:

 

[Sarabell]

Anyone have any strange pre trip rituals?

We’re getting ready for your yearly May trip (5 more days!!!) and I just realized what a nut I am.


There are a few others, but I’m afraid if I list anymore you guys might have me committed. :lookaroun

I don't think you should worry about listing some more. I belive if we all list our rituals we would all have to be commited... and I don't think there's enough room in mental institutions for sooo many crazy people!

some of mine:

a trip to WDW being an international trip for me, I pack half a suitcase with clothes and bring an extra one completely empty, I know I'll go crazy buying more clothes and junk in general(not only at WDW though)

I can't get any sleep the night before. I stay awake and watch old disney cartoons (God bless Youtube) thinking how I can't believe this trip is really happening

We fly to MIA and go straight from the airport to pick up our rental car, a quick stop at any fast food restaurant (drive thru) and off to orlando we go!
no rest, we'll have plenty of time to rest when we get to the hotel (yeah, like maybe 2 hours cause then I'll be awake thinking how I can't believe I'm going to MK the next day)

If I remember more I'll let you know :wave:

 

[stratman50th]

Anyone have any strange pre trip rituals?

We’re getting ready for your yearly May trip (5 more days!!!) and I just realized what a nut I am.

Based on this list, I don't think you're a nut. Basically because I do most of the same stuff.

1.I let my hair grow longer than normal (miss a couple of haircuts) and then the day before we leave I ‘treat’ my self with a high and tight cut.

This I don't do. Probably because the front is in retreat and the back kind of has the Friar Tuck thing going on. I do get it cut my normal shortness before I go though.

2.Save up all our soda, water and beer cans all year and the week before we go I cash them all in so that I have “airport” money for the trip down.

Ok, so I don't do this either. I don't even know what "airport" money is. Pocket change for general stuff?

3.With the exception of 1 year I always buy a new pair of sneakers especially for our WDW trip

Alright, nothing wrong here. I buy mine in advance so they get broken in good before the trip. Don't want any fit surprises while there causing blisters. Although, after last year I took a page out of my daughter's book and I wear a good quality pair of flip flops. Strangely more support than I imagined and they're much better on the feet when it rains than a soggy pair of tennis shoes and wet socks balling up around your toes!

4. I wait until the last day before we leave to mow my lawn.

Nothing wrong with this either. You don't want a jungle to plow through when you get home.

5. Spend every waking moment on these boards getting all my last minute details so
I’m in the know before I go.

Just joined a month or two ago, but I assume I'll hang around a lot. Mostly because I get bored at work and this kills time!

There are a few others, but I’m afraid if I list anymore you guys might have me committed. :lookaroun

I'd love to see what else you do. So far I don't think you're all that crazy..... Or maybe I am to but hey, whatever.

1) Let's see. I hit the book store and/or library and pick up some books to read.
2) Make sure the the car checks out for the trip, oil change, tires rotated, belts, just all maintenance items for a 950Mile trip.
3) Hit the bank so that we have cash if necessary (Is this your airport money?).
4) Make sure all the meds have been refilled and are of sufficient quantity for the trip.
The more I think about this I've decided you just plan ahead and it isn't crazy at all........

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

We watch one Disney movie a week for the 8 weeks leading up to the trip.. i also plan everything out for the trip so I review our itinerary almost daily to make sure everything is in place (I know it is, but I just like to make sure!)
We also bring out the old home videos of past trips. On Sunday to prepare for our trip in 4 days, we watched one from 1992. It's cool to see how much has changed (like Minnie and Pluto just hanging out, signing autographs unaccompanied in Mickey's Birthdayland!!)

 

[MattyFresh]

My wife said the other night, she wants to watch all Disney movies that we have before we leave in October......so far that has yet to begin.

I usually will buy a new pair of shoes before leaving....not sure when or why this started

 

[onesandzeros]

I find the anticipation and run-up to departure part of the fun. There is one exception to this. I always get bummed out the day I’m departing. Do I really want to go, there are other things I should be doing, etc. etc. But once I exit the plane in Orlando all the excitement returns BIG TIME! Enjoy every minute of the stay and can’t wait to return once I’m back home. Yet another angle on those of us who should be committed.

 

[belle_1022]

Once we OFFICIALLY book our trip, my nephew starts his countdown.

My husband starts the countdown to make ADRs.

I set up my Disney Trip Widget on my Mac dashboard - it reads 170 days today.

We start to list what attractions we want to see - maybe some we have never been to. The girls will be 18 months old so we will be able to do more with them.

Then as we get closer - maybe a week before the trip, my dad pulls out "The Magic of Walt Disney World" VHS circa 1972. We love it - the guy with the Mickey ears embroidered FRANK is our favorite.

Dying to go now. My parents are going - no kids & no grandkids - in 15 days.

 

[bmarkelon]

Anyone have any strange pre trip rituals?

We’re getting ready for your yearly May trip (5 more days!!!) and I just realized what a nut I am.

1.I let my hair grow longer than normal (miss a couple of haircuts) and then the day before we leave I ‘treat’ my self with a high and tight cut.

2.Save up all our soda, water and beer cans all year and the week before we go I cash them all in so that I have “airport” money for the trip down.

3.With the exception of 1 year I always buy a new pair of sneakers especially for our WDW trip

4. I wait until the last day before we leave to mow my lawn.

5. Spend every waking moment on these boards getting all my last minute details so
I’m in the know before I go.

There are a few others, but I’m afraid if I list anymore you guys might have me committed. :lookaroun

I wanna hear some more of your list....haha! My DH actually does #s 1, 3, and 4 off your list too!

 

[JillC LI]

Nothing stresses me out more than packing for Disney, especially now that I have to pack for me and the 3 kiddos. The DH has it made just packing for himself. So I spend a lot of time freaking out and going over my checklists a million times, we now ship our luggage ahead of us which helped some.

Yes, it never ceases to amaze me how wherever we go, I can manage to pack for myself and both kids without complaining, but DH whines about packing just for himself. :lol:

 

[liloohana]

I just wanted to say, I joined a couple weeks ago...and this is why!! We love to countdown, too!!

Our favorite is to make a Disney chain (so far, the longest one was 100).
My daughter cuts out all the paper strips and then we divide them up between the five of us, and we each write down something we're looking forward to!!! Each night, we rip off a chain and read it until there are no more left...and then it's time to go!!

The best part is now that they're getting older and have been there 10 times,
they are putting down funny memories that are very personal (like the time I took off running through Cinderella's castle with my son in my arms and the umbrella stroller flying behind me to be first in line for Dumbo...sad, but true)!!

It's so much fun to see who remembers what and what everyone's favorite is!!

We also love getting new Disney books to read to give us a fresh look at Disney!! We bought all The Imagineering Field Guides to the four parks for our last trip, and for our next trip we bought The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World!! Then we can look for hidden and meaningful parts of Disney!!

Last but not least, we download Disney songs from Itunes and make a mix for our drive down!! There's nothing better then torturing your teenager with On the Open Road (Max and Goofy) and the soundtrack to Splash Mountain (Laughing Place)!!

Thanks for coming up with this post...it's so much fun to get ideas from other Disney lovers!!

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

A sacrifice of a small mammal before burning some incense and saying an incantation to the volcano ash gods.

 

[mamamouse]

one more thing we always do is watch our fave vid and remember paste trips n memories also I'll try n post the link here for anyone who wants to see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dATfc3_HyNY

 

[MickeysMagic]

My husband and I do what we call thirty day dinners. Starting at the six month mark, every thirty days we prepare a Disney dinner (sushi, Mexican, German, Italian). It's so much fun and it prolongs the Disney happiness!
And starting 3 months out I send my husband and my friend Suzette (a fellow Disney freak) an email with a Disney Tip for today...or even the count down till we leave.
Oh, and we also buy Disney sneakers before we go! :lol:

 

[Courtney1188]

I won't get a chance to do any of my normal pre-trip rituals this time around..well, I'm guessing I won't, I'll be too busy going crazy with last-minute wedding details! But I'll start packing way way way ahead of time and change my packed outfits a ton of times. I also always buy a new bag to carry around my camera, phone, tickets, etc.

 

[Susan Savia]

Not rituals, but we tend to look at old videos taken at the parks, with the kids real young. Also, the morning we leave, we drive the first mile and I always say...."Only 899 more miles to go!"