Pre-Trip When your husband says “I think I’m ready to go back”, who am I to say no? - April 2020 then June/July 2020 now WHO KNOWS 😩 Thanks Corona 😒

Hi everyone! Let’s be honest, I’m probably more shocked than you are that I’m back here so soon! But as the title says, who am I to tell him no?

Who: The cast is currently the same as the last trip....

Myself, my husband George, and our daughter Ryleigh....Except that adorable little peanut has grown just a bit....

We did a Toy Story theme this year too @akneeconnors
We were “that family”....Ryleigh had an entourage...my sister and her husband were the green aliens, my mom was Rex, and my in-laws were supposed to be Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head but sickness left us potato-less for Trick or Treat.

When: Wednesday, April 22nd through Saturday, April 25th
We have always wanted to see the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot. We originally thought about the weekend before but it’s the Star Wars Marathon thing and I had no idea how crowds would be considering Star Wars Land is now open. So the following weekend it is! We decided to do Wed-Sat over Thurs-Sun because it’s cheaper to fly home Saturday as opposed to Sunday. Ryleigh is an “adult” according to Southwest so we have to buy 3 seats God bless those of you who fly with more than one child!

Where: All Star Movies, preferred room
I know the values tend to get snubbed but I stayed at them a lot as a kid so I have fond memories of them. My husband and I both really like Pop. However, if you can tell by her Halloween costume, we have a Toy Story lover...especially all things Buzz Lightyear! ASMo has a Toy Story section so it was kind of a no brainer on that one! I can’t wait to see her face when she sees the giant Buzz and Woody...hoping she is a little less indifferent than the last trip!

 

[annienevells]

Yay! Can’t wait to read all about it. And Ryleigh is a much cuter Buzz than me

 

[MegRuss626]

Now for the why...it’s gonna get wordy...sorry!

George and I will be married for 10 years on June 26th next year. We started tossing around ideas for a “grown up” trip for the two of us....Vegas! I went for a national dance competition when I was 16 (aka not a good age to fully experience Vegas) and George has never been. It eventually got vetoed because it’ll be our first time ever away from Ryleigh overnight and we didn’t want to be on the other side of the country. (I know, I know....those kind of parents!) Next up, Nashville! We love country music and it’s somewhere we’ve always wanted to see....Grand Ole Opry, Broadway, the usual tourist-y things. We also started tossing around a trip to Universal. I went once for one day in 2001 and George has been before a few times pre-HP World. As we're pricing these out, they’re turning out to be around what a decent trip to Disney would cost. Just go to Disney then you say? George said “I don’t think I could go without Ryleigh”.

Then, the beginning of August my 33 year old body decided to start having issues George got to spend a week at home after after I landed in the ER for horrible stomach pains and two days later, in the podiatrist having my big toe nail removed after continued issues from an ingrown toe nail I had done in March of this year. That “routine procedure” turned into me not being able to walk for a few days because I apparently had a nasty infection hiding under the toenail. As far as the stomach issues, I spent August and September living on boring and bland food to help lessen the amount of attacks I was having. I eventually learned my gallbladder was full of stones and was functioning at 0%!! So on October 17th, we officially parted ways. I’ve been entertaining myself with the forums while I’ve been laid up these past two weeks!

Back to that week George had off in August, he and Ryleigh spent their days watching Disney movies. Mix that with DisneyJr having a commercial showing TSL that Ryleigh went nuts over, my husband said to me “I’m ready to take her back...she needs to see TSL again! Plus, all of these Disney movies just made me want to go!” He’s a keeper everyone!

We did some hypothetical pricing (Ryleigh will still be two aka “free”....BONUS!) and a quick trip at ASMo plus flights would be less than our anniversary trips we were looking at. But what about your anniversary trip you ask? We decided we’ll spend a few days on our anniversary at Cedar Point. When we got married, George didn’t have much vacation time yet so we spent a few days at Cedar Point for our honeymoon so it seemed like a sentimental full circle trip to celebrate our 10 years there!

So, we get a surprise Disney trip and still get a small anniversary trip....what more could a girl ask for!

 

[krisri18]

Sounds perfect to me! And you're right, he's a keeper!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Yay! You get to go back soon!! I'm sure it will be a great trip! Hope you have fun at Cedar Point too! Are you planning to stay in one of their resorts? We went this past June and stayed in one of the cottages on the lake. Not inexpensive, but we really enjoyed being right there and walking to the park each day!

 

[MegRuss626]

Yay! You get to go back soon!! I'm sure it will be a great trip! Hope you have fun at Cedar Point too! Are you planning to stay in one of their resorts? We went this past June and stayed in one of the cottages on the lake. Not inexpensive, but we really enjoyed being right there and walking to the park each day!

We are! We're about 3 hours from there so we will definitely stay overnight and I like the convenience of being closer to the park....Disney spoiled me! For our honeymoon, we stayed at the Hotel Breakers which was nice because it was right there and the hibachi place there was nice. We went back for our third anniversary and stayed at the Breakers Express (I think it’s called?). It was alright. I remember seeing your cabin on Instagram when you stayed there! I even showed your pictures to my husband as an idea for a future visit.

 

[NessNewt]

We have such a similar trip planned for April, except it is the week before (at the mercy of school break). Staying at a value, Wednesday through Saturday!

I'm sorry to hear about all your health events - that's a lot happening all at once. I hope you are feeling so much better!

Looking forward to following along!

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

Sounds like it’ll be a great trip. Your daughter is so adorable. Also glad to hear you’re on the mend.

 

[Swissmiss]

Sorry to hear about the health issues - no fun. Your little Buzzette is adorable

 

[MegRuss626]

We have such a similar trip planned for April, except it is the week before (at the mercy of school break). Staying at a value, Wednesday through Saturday!

I'm sorry to hear about all your health events - that's a lot happening all at once. I hope you are feeling so much better!

Looking forward to following along!

Bummed we'll miss you but I’m sure you’ll have a magical time! We’re taking all the trips we can before we have to start worrying about school! And thanks...I’m finally starting to feel a little more normal. I’ve been slowly introducing some foods I had been avoiding back in...gotta eat all the food in Disney!

Sounds like it’ll be a great trip. Your daughter is so adorable. Also glad to hear you’re on the mend.

Thanks....we are SUPER biased, but we totally agree with you about Ryleigh! And thanks!

Sorry to hear about the health issues - no fun. Your little Buzzette is adorable

They were most definitely no fun but I’m just glad we were able to figure it out reasonably quick! It took a friend of mine two years before they came to the conclusion it was her gallbladder! And thank you!! As soon as I saw that costume, I HAD to order it!!

 

[MegRuss626]

Hi everyone! Wanted to pop in and say Happy New Year! Our trip changed a tiny bit. My “vacation creep” (as @lostpro9het calls it) kicked in! We are now flying in on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. We decided we would rather have a full HS day on Wednesday rather than a few hours in the evening! We also have a new obsession that rivals with Buzz Lightyear these days.....

She has the dresses, got the ice castle for Christmas, knows all the words to the songs from both movies, and all other things Frozen! We’re even going to be switching from her crib to a big girl bed soon (why do these kids grow up so dang fast????) and you already can guess what her bedding of choice was! Hint....it’s Frozen! George and I even got brave and took her to her first ever movie!

(She totally did awesome too! She chowed down on some popcorn, sang along, and gasped at all the right parts!)

Anytime someone asks her about the trip, she says she’s going to meet Olaf! It could be interesting beings that Santa was an absolute no go this year. We had to take a family photo with him because she wouldn’t go near him alone We're 107 days away and I’m getting so excited now that the holidays are over! Soon enough it will be FP time!

 

[krisri18]

Hi everyone! Wanted to pop in and say Happy New Year! Our trip changed a tiny bit. My “vacation creep” (as @lostpro9het calls it) kicked in! We are now flying in on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. We decided we would rather have a full HS day on Wednesday rather than a few hours in the evening! We also have a new obsession that rivals with Buzz Lightyear these days.....

View attachment 439396

She has the dresses, got the ice castle for Christmas, knows all the words to the songs from both movies, and all other things Frozen! We’re even going to be switching from her crib to a big girl bed soon (why do these kids grow up so dang fast????) and you already can guess what her bedding of choice was! Hint....it’s Frozen! George and I even got brave and took her to her first ever movie!

View attachment 439397
(She totally did awesome too! She chowed down on some popcorn, sang along, and gasped at all the right parts!)

Anytime someone asks her about the trip, she says she’s going to meet Olaf! It could be interesting beings that Santa was an absolute no go this year. We had to take a family photo with him because she wouldn’t go near him alone We're 107 days away and I’m getting so excited now that the holidays are over! Soon enough it will be FP time!

Love it! We've got a big Olaf fan too and he absolutely loved meeting his favorite snowman back in August! We even had an Olaf birthday party yesterday! Good luck

 

[SharonD]

Ryleigh is absolutely adorable, and it should be a great trip, since she seems to know what she likes!

Glad you are feeling better.

 

[MegRuss626]

Love it! We've got a big Olaf fan too and he absolutely loved meeting his favorite snowman back in August! We even had an Olaf birthday party yesterday! Good luckView attachment 439515

Love the cake! I can’t believe your little one is one already! And I can’t say that I blame them...Olaf is a hoot! He’s especially hysterical in the new movie!

Ryleigh is absolutely adorable, and it should be a great trip, since she seems to know what she likes!

Glad you are feeling better.

Thank you! She is most definitely getting more opinionated these days! haha And thanks!

 

[krisri18]

Love the cake! I can’t believe your little one is one already! And I can’t say that I blame them...Olaf is a hoot! He’s especially hysterical in the new movie!



Thank you! She is most definitely getting more opinionated these days! haha And thanks!

Haven't gotten to see the new movie yet but we do love Olaf's Frozen Adventure! @NessNewt made the cake! She's such a good auntie! Time certainly has flown by, Miss Ryleigh is looking more grown up too!

 

[Cetta]

my 3 yo is obsessed with Frozen too. She runs around the house using her ice powers and singing, we also had to see Frozen 2 twice in theaters. I am doing a solo trip next month and I am starting to feel guilty about it since she is constantly bringing up how she wants to go back to Disney World to meet Ana and Elsa. the past 5 years has been nothing but super heroes with my son so it is so refreshing to have a little girl that loves princesses!

 

[Isabelle12345]

WoW I also have an almost three year old who is obsessed with Frozen these days... singing and dancing in her Elsa dress every morning before daycare... she is SOOOOOO excited that she will get to meet Elsa Anna and Olaf soon!
My 5yo son is a bit disappointed that Kristoff and Sven are not there but... he’s fine with Olaf (and tagging along for the princesses! )

 

[mlee10]

@Isabelle12345 I wish more of the male characters were there period! But would love a Kristoff and Sven interaction!

 

[ELeigh]

Flower and garden is the best! I am also with you on the all star nostalgia, staying at an all star resort as a kid felt like the coolest thing in the world.

 

[MegRuss626]

Hi everyone! Our trip is getting super close!

Haven’t had much time to update this between competition season for dance, sicknesses galore for everyone in our house (Ryleigh is getting tubes the end of this month ), and just life in general! We had some exciting mail this past week!

George and I have plain ones because we use our puck sliders on our watch bands. I was browsing the bands you could upgrade to and saw they had a Vampirina band! Naturally, I had to order it for my two year old whose MB does nothing. I’ve been referring to those “moments” and purchases as getting smacked in the face with pixie dust. I currently have more ears for this trip than I have days and head to wear them on We went to our local Disney store two weeks ago and as I walked in I was overwhelmed with “we‘re leaving in two months!!!” I shopped like I was in MouseGear I did pick this up to use as my purse on the plane lol

Necessities right? I think we’re good on clothes and I keep telling myself that every time I see something cute for Ryleigh We have another competition in two weekends and then I figure I’ll start packing. And by packing in my terms, I mean I’ll wash everything and organize everything but not pack the suitcase until the last minute the night before we leave.

We had a pretty successful FP day and I’ll post our daily plans in the next post!