We're going back and gonna dress up again, Mickey, watch out! 10/24-10/29

[KnightFarms]

Hi, I'm Cheryl, and I'm a planaholic; it's bad.
​

We are not going until October, and I'm sure DH will ban talking about it long before then, so I'll reach out to my fellow planners.

Here's what we have so far:

• Flying from Cleveland, OH
  
• Staying in a 1br on concierge level at Animal Kingdom Lodge on points.(There goes our year's allotment)
  
• Dates: Sunday 10/24- Friday 10/29
  
  
• We went to MNSSHP in early October 2008, and LOVED it! And will surely go again, maybe twice.

The cast this time includes:

**Note** This will be the first time traveling to wdw without my parents (Cruella and Dracula) to watch the kids so we can go out at night or just have some free time... hence the concierge booking.

Me: 29 y/o sorta stay at home mom. I'm a grad student, I run a volunteer GED program for homeless women, I'm on the board at my kids' school, and I teach Spanish a few days a week to make a little money. With being so busy, I'm a TOTAL CONTROL FREAK and have an obsessive NEED TO PLAN everything when we go to Disney. (I'm Cinderella)

DH: Computer programmer that agrees to go to Disney every other year. He loves it when we go, but Disney is not in his blood yet. (He's Capt. Hook)

DD6: She's 5 now, but will be 6, and is as crazy as her mother. She's been to Disney a bunch of times already and has her favorites. She usually sports a super short bob (by her choice) but is growing her hair out so she can do Bibbity Bobbity Boutique; it's her bestest Disney memory ever. This girl is my drama queen, but she is a trooper and will stay up for fireworks and run around on rides late without being too grumpy or sassy. (she's tinker bell in the photo)

DD4: She's 3 now and a pistol. The last time we went down with my mom, she punched Goofy at Chef Mickey's. He wouldn't leave her alone and she was 2 going on 3... I was horrified, but at least none of the characters bothered her after that. She's looking forward to her first BBB experience, and really hopes it doesn't rain. She is not good about staying away past her normal bed time (7:30) so I'm guessing we'll be bringing a stroller for her cause when she's tired she just sits and goes to sleep. (She's Belle)


I am trying to figure out what our costumes will be, as I was sewing the ones from the photo up until midnight the night before we left... Not going to do that again!!!

Other than that, I'm not sure what else I'll be focusing on... It's been about a year since I was down there, so I'll brush up on reservations and any new places ( I hear the new place at Boardwalk is yummy!)

Stay tuned: past trip photos to come... and maybe a rough up of an eating plan.

 

[Kimmy0879]

Very Nice!

We are from the Cleveland area too (that's why your blog caught my eye)...Brunswick to be exact. Our 1st trip to MNNSHP is Sept 17th. I, too, am a planaholic (love the term). My husband is finally addicted to Disney like me. We went at Christmas time for one day...left him hungry for more!

Have a great trip, and more imprtantly...have fun planning!

 

[KnightFarms]

Usually I am a planner and a half, but life has gotten in the way lately and the only time I've had to think about Disney is in my dreams. We (Me and my two dd's) are also going to be going to Disney 3x in the next 12 months.

October. Halloween Trip with Hubby and kids, 1br concierge at AK Jambo House

December. Christmas trip with my mom and girls. 1br value AK Jambo house

This is my mom's gift to me for finishing my masters degree as well as a Christmas present for me and the girls. DH doesn't need to go to Disney more than 1x a year or every other year, so he wasn't invited. I haven't been down there for Christmas since my early teens and I'm so excited!!!
This will be a BUDGET trip, though. I'm talking boxes of mac and chz, peanut butter and jelly, and free Magic Kingdom water that tastes oh so yummy! ​

June 2011. Mom's retirement trip. Mom, Dad, me, and all 5 of their grand kids. 2br at Old Key West.

I don't know how I feel about traveling with my sister's kids, as they tend to get on my nerves, but I'm going to help my parents. I also figure that I'd better scope out this time of year (summer break), as both my girls will be in school after that summer.​

Goodbye flying: security, dramamine, and lollipops for the kiddos:

Hello driving!!! I can not seem to find flights in our tight budget, and we've never driven down there before. It's an experience each family should have, right? People do it all the time, right?

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE Convince me that I'm going to survive from Cleveland, OH to the concierge level of AKL. My GPS says 16 hours straight down I-77. [/SIZE]

​

1. Can we do it in our Toyota Camry?
2. Should we just rent a minivan ($400 for the week)?

We do have a Suburban, but it's in crap shape and would be cheaper to fly than feed that beast gas the whole way.​

3. Do people drive straight thru? That's what I'm hoping for, so tell me your stories.
4. Who has any of those special pillows for kids in car seats? Tell me about the one you have or dream about.... cause we'll be driving over night.

Next up

1. 
   [*]Dining Reservations (got them all)
   [*]Costume Design (I think I have those figured out too!)

 

[KnightFarms]

Thought I might share some pics of my little princesses while I put together my dining plan.

It needs to be revamped after showing it to DH last night. Grrrrr!!!

I booked BBB for the girls on Thursday morning, near the end of my vacation, but now I'm wondering if I should see if there's anything on Sunday our day of arrival and night with the princesses at Norway?

We start 'em young in this family. Kelsey was only 8 weeks old on her first trip and Sydney was 18 months. DH Scott handled his first trip to Disney with my family EXTREMELY well

Trying to get an infant, toddler, husband, and the sun to cooperate for my traditional castle pic just wasn't happening that time!

This trip Sydney was 2.5 and Kelsey 9M. We went with my mom, though, I don't remember if there was a reason. Does one really need a reason to go when Grandma's paying?

My little princesses in the double stroller from hell! I actually left the stroller at a bus stop at Saratoga Springs with directions on how to use it and a sign that said FREE TO A GOOD HOME!

Sydney, DD5, went to BBB on her actual 4th bday. Kelsey was too young. The whole experience was wonderful. It was definitely $50 of magic!

Here's a before pic of Sydney:

And here an after with her and Cinderella at the castle:

And the was Kelsey's #3 birthday trip from hell! Rain, rain, rain, and my mom got the flu. But there were cute pics:

No BBB that time, but we did stop at the Barbershop in MK (CASH ONLY) and got some fun colored gels and glitter (pixie dust is free) for $7 or something cheap.

Off to revamp the dining. I was going light on the reservations because we're staying on the concierge level. And DH hasn't been down there in 2 years and I didn't want to have to be completely dictated by reservations.
Here's what it looked like before:

Concierge all week at Animal Kingdom Lodge
Sunday: Akerhaus dinner at Norway
Monday: Fish and Chips for lunch at UK in EPCOT
Tuesday: 1900 Park Fare Dinner before MNSSHP
Wednesday: Cape May at Beach Club for dinner buffet
Thursday: Crystal Palace breakfast early.
Friday: Left open until final decision on driving/flying is made. Mostly likely breakfast at Boma.

 

[KnightFarms]

Hello everyone or no one, I have no idea who is following this or even looking at this. It's really more like planning therapy.

Here's what's happened since I last posted:

1. We are now picking up my sister in law on our first drive down.

Dh was close to his little sister before she moved down to NC and since then they have drifted apart. She works in retail and has a hard time coming home around the holidays, and we have young kids and are broke = we never see her. I asked her if she wanted to join us thinking that she'd say, no I'm too broke, and she said yes. GREAT!! And I mean that. One more adult can never been a bad thing.

2. Rent a mini van v. drive down our camry... still up for debate. The SIL will be joining us for about half the trip and we'll pick her up in the middle of the night. BUT both DD's are techinically still supposed to be in booster seats, so that will make a tight squeeze in the back of a sedan. DH and I decided that we will get everything paid for ahead of time and if there's $$ at the end, then we'll rent a van and make everyone's trip more comfortable.

3. Costumes for MNSSHP: vetoed.
I am finishing my final semester of my masters and we do not know what the weather will turn out to be, so we are going to go in matching t-shirts and ful twirl skirts that I will sew in the wee hours of the morning when I am suppose to be sleeping. DH will wear some cheap athletic shorts with Halloween fabric patches sewn on so we can have cute pics the night of the party.

So that's where we are... more to come tomorrow after coffee. Comments and suggestions welcome!!!

 

[vickxo]

My family & I have driven to Disney World twice already and this upcoming trip in 6 days we're driving as well. (We've also driven from NY to SC in one day with no problems, twice)
We drive from NY to FL, it's about just under 24 hours. Don't get me wrong, it's a long trip but my mother drives the entire way by herself. We don't drive straight threw. We like to make it to at least Savannah Georgia and usually we do and we get there at around 7 or 8pm. We have used a Suburban the last two times and this time we are taking our Traverse (with 6 people & 2 dogs) and its going to be tight. As stressful as the drive may sound its actually kind of fun you make a CD of all Disney songs or bring along a portable DVD player, or a laptop with a good battery life, with a young child a portable DVD player would be a great investment and will keep them occupied for at least a few hours. We pass the time with music, movies, jokes, planning, games (travel games are great way to keep yourself distracted from being confined to a car for so many hours).
All in all we enjoy driving down, we make as few stops as possible and make pretty good time.

 

[KnightFarms]

My family & I have driven to Disney World twice already and this upcoming trip in 6 days we're driving as well. (We've also driven from NY to SC in one day with no problems, twice)

Good luck on your drive. Please let me know how it went. We're not leaving for 2 months, but I'm starting to freak out a little.

 

[KnightFarms]

The Schedule:
​

22 Friday:
Drive with as little stopping as possible.

23 Saturday:
Arrive around 1pm and check in at Pop Century... not sure after that. Just depends on which adult is the most functional. Maybe AK parade and maybe just swimming.

24 Sunday:
Check out of Pop by 11 and in to AKL by 4pm.

EPCOT for dinner and let the girls work on their passports. I'm hoping to stay for Illuminations​

25 Monday:
Boma for a late breakfast, and some hanging out, photos, concierge snacks! MK has EMH at night so I'm hoping for a nap from the girls and then some super fun night time activities:

• spectromagic
• Wishes (dd's have never seen it)
• and of course rides at night!

26 Tuesday: MNSSHP!!!!!!!!!
Lots of rest in the morning and afternoon, and then we have a reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern at 6:50. Hoping to finish up right in time for the parade!

27 Wednesday: Recovering.
HS afternoon parade and an early dinner at Cape May is all that's on the books.

28 Thursday: Early entry MK
DD's have BBB at 10:30, so I'm hoping to hit the highlights before then! We may end up at EPCOT later for some dinner. Germany anyone?

29 Friday: Check out day!
Check out by 11am, and that's all I know. We might go to a park and we might not, we'll see. I suppose I should feed my family before we hit the road, though, huh?

 

[KnightFarms]

22 Friday:

Camry (we own it) vs. Minivan (rental for $450)...​

DH and I agreed that everything else has to be paid for before we go ahead with the van.​

• Pick up DD from school at 3:15 and leave.
• We will drive for about 4 hours then stop on WV for some dinner and gas.
• Then through the mountains in the middle of the night.
  
• Here's a link to our route for anyone interested: http://www.mapquest.com/mq/9-OV7iVRpYU9DM
  ​
• 2:00am-ish We will pick up my little sister-in-law. I'm hoping that she can get her bf to drive her to a gas station just south of Charlotte because she lives about 45 minutes off the highways and I don't really want to lose that time while DD's will be sleeping.
  
  
  
• Somewhere early morning (6-7a) we'll stop at a Waffle House in Southern GA or N FL (hence all the markers on the map so close to wdw.) We don't have those up here and think it's hilarious that they are at every exit in the South.
  
• 12:00pm-ish I'm hoping to roll in to wdw. We will be arriving a day early(as long as we can drive thru the night) so I'm going to book a night at POP. We've stayed at the other Value resorts but not that one.
  
  
  
  
  I figure by this point we'll all be just about ready to kill each other. Sure hope we can save up enough to rent that minivan, otherwise the Camry is going to seem mighty small by that point.
  
  
  • Kids will be well rested
  • DH will be exhausted from driving all night
  • SIL will want to stab her eyes out from being in the back seat of the car with the girls (she doesn't have kids)
  • Me, not sure where I'll be cause I'll either sleep lots in the car while DH and SIL drive, or I'll be up a ton and need some of that "yummy" Disney coffee in an IV.

• 
  

 

[KnightFarms]

I don't even remember the last time I posted, but looking at my giant photo of Pop Century makes me realize that it's all changed.

First, we got a new (used) car that we can drive down there... 2006 Chysler Pacifica with a 3rd row option.

That car is saving us over $100 a month! PLUS not renting a minivan!


Friday, October 22 (revamped)

Next, still driving, though we're leaving a 12:00pm now, not 4 pm.​

• Pick of DD5 from school at lunch
• Hit the road
• Get to my sister in law's in NC around 9p
• Make her drive a while.
• Arrive in Disney stupidly early in the morning. (like 4am-ish)
• Not sure what to do from then until the first park opens or we can check in???? (SUGGESTIONS WELCOME)

I booked us a room at the All Star Sports to recover at before we check in to AKL on Sunday.

and then