OhioDisneyLover
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2006
Joining in. It looks like you had a great time on your trip so far. I don't know about you, but the last day is always the hardest day for me. 
A pinch of pixie dust + pinch of OCD = a fun trip for all! UPDATE 6/3
- Thread starter MeeskaMomma
- Start date
Joining in. It looks like you had a great time on your trip so far. I don't know about you, but the last day is always the hardest day for me. 
MeeskaMomma
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2013
The spreadsheets
Before I get to the resort photos, I thought I would share some of my pre-trip planning.
I have mentioned my planning binder and spreadsheets a couple of times. I am pretty proud of these suckers so I thought I would share some of my spreadsheets in case others find them useful.
First the itinerary. I used the travel wizard at :
http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/aspx/twiz.aspx
To get travel time estimates. They were actually extremely accurate. I also looked at ride time lengths on undercover tourist to get an estimate of no long each ride would take. I also took into account walking times. There aren't really any maps that show distances between rides but I found an app called "measure" that lets you measure the distance between things. Our family walks at about a 18-20 minute mile if we are REALLY strolling so I used a 20 minute mile to calculate our walking times.
Without trying to hard we were actually perfectly on schedule in the mornings. The afternoons were another story since we went back to the resort later than expected and returned to the park later.
I love having an itinerary but keep in mind the point of an itinerary is to keep you from standing around scratching your head thinking what's next, it is not an appointment schedule. It should not add stress to the trip. I have had people say, I could never micromanage a trip like that, my family wouldn't have it. It is not micromanaging, it is just having a plan, and then being flexible once there.
This was my first Disney itinerary, but the format is something have used for other things. I am continually tweaking it. Right now it is what works for me.
Next the budget. I took a screen shot of this one a little under construction, since I have started planning for next year. There are many mini budgets that make this one up. The red numbers are actuals. It does take into account Pre-trip prep costs which I expect to go down next year. (that is the $100 next to each persons name). I think I did pretty good this year, especially on flights. Next year we are planning on going longer and I don't expect to get as good a deal on the resort do we increased our budget.
The next picture is part of our dinning budget. I originally created this to figure out if the Disney Dinning plan would be worth it, but it really came in hand. It was nice knowing ahead of time what we were spending, it meant no, should I really get that? What do you think sweetie? And got us in and out faster which is important with a 2 year old. You may notice we REALLY splurged on dinning. We love food, and don't ever go out to eat at home, so why not.
Next is a quick spreadsheet I through together to price out different packages. Nothing to fancy there.
I also had a pack lit, a wardrobe spreadsheet, and a checklist. I am not sure they would be helpful to anyone else so I didn't take a picture of those.
If you like my templates and would like a copy send me a pm with your email and. I would be happy to send them to you.
I know not everyone plans like this, but for us all the pre-trip planning made for a stress free trip.
Before I get to the resort photos, I thought I would share some of my pre-trip planning.
I have mentioned my planning binder and spreadsheets a couple of times. I am pretty proud of these suckers so I thought I would share some of my spreadsheets in case others find them useful.
First the itinerary. I used the travel wizard at :
http://www.ourlaughingplace.com/aspx/twiz.aspx
To get travel time estimates. They were actually extremely accurate. I also looked at ride time lengths on undercover tourist to get an estimate of no long each ride would take. I also took into account walking times. There aren't really any maps that show distances between rides but I found an app called "measure" that lets you measure the distance between things. Our family walks at about a 18-20 minute mile if we are REALLY strolling so I used a 20 minute mile to calculate our walking times.
Without trying to hard we were actually perfectly on schedule in the mornings. The afternoons were another story since we went back to the resort later than expected and returned to the park later.
I love having an itinerary but keep in mind the point of an itinerary is to keep you from standing around scratching your head thinking what's next, it is not an appointment schedule. It should not add stress to the trip. I have had people say, I could never micromanage a trip like that, my family wouldn't have it. It is not micromanaging, it is just having a plan, and then being flexible once there.
This was my first Disney itinerary, but the format is something have used for other things. I am continually tweaking it. Right now it is what works for me.
Next the budget. I took a screen shot of this one a little under construction, since I have started planning for next year. There are many mini budgets that make this one up. The red numbers are actuals. It does take into account Pre-trip prep costs which I expect to go down next year. (that is the $100 next to each persons name). I think I did pretty good this year, especially on flights. Next year we are planning on going longer and I don't expect to get as good a deal on the resort do we increased our budget.
The next picture is part of our dinning budget. I originally created this to figure out if the Disney Dinning plan would be worth it, but it really came in hand. It was nice knowing ahead of time what we were spending, it meant no, should I really get that? What do you think sweetie? And got us in and out faster which is important with a 2 year old. You may notice we REALLY splurged on dinning. We love food, and don't ever go out to eat at home, so why not.
Next is a quick spreadsheet I through together to price out different packages. Nothing to fancy there.
I also had a pack lit, a wardrobe spreadsheet, and a checklist. I am not sure they would be helpful to anyone else so I didn't take a picture of those.
If you like my templates and would like a copy send me a pm with your email and. I would be happy to send them to you.
I know not everyone plans like this, but for us all the pre-trip planning made for a stress free trip.
MeeskaMomma
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2013
Thanks for joining in! I agree! i think I am putting off writing about the last day because I don't want to stop reliving our trip!
MeeskaMomma
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2013
AoA part 1
Finally I am getting to more of my AoA photos. AoA is such a fun resort I have been really excited to share these.
When I left off we had just finished our shopping at Downtown Disney. I original plan was to order a Giordsno's pizza, because I haven't had one since I lived in Chicago 9 years ago. Then we discovered the pizza at Landscapes of Flavor was actually pretty good so we went the easy route.
DS returning to our building.
I mentioned in my first post that we came to call Landscapes of Flavor, Landscapes of Despair. Allow me to clarify. The food is pretty good, and the CM's are really friendly, but it is an absolute madhouse. I don't have experience with any of the other food courts at Disney so maybe they are all like this, but we found it a very stressfully experience just getting food and checking out was a whole other ordeal! It seems like every time we would go to check out we would be behind someone with a problem. Usually it had to do with the Disney dinning plan, inevitably something they thought was covered wasn't, so then a big discussion between mom and dad ensued "should we get the item? Should we just pay cash?" or between customer and cm "well why isn't it covered?" meanwhile junior is understandably loosing patience, he or she just wants their food! And so do we for that matter. Needless to say this experience did not leave me with a very high opinion of the Disney Dinning Plan.
We did survive and made it back to the room with this delicious pizza.
After lunch DS took a super long nap. This gave me and DS each a chance to walk around explore the resort by ourselves and buy some souvenirs!
These are the photos I took while walking around.
The chandelier in the hall of animation.
More from the hall.
The big blue pool.
Nemo birds! Sometimes they would go "mine, mine" when you walked by.
Entering Radiator Springs
Ahhh Radiator Springs.
Near the Hourglass Lake
Our view.
We took turns at the gift shop. I bought a simple souvenir that would keep the mouse with me at all times.
DH got DS the best gift ever!
"Pit pit!" (Pitstop) DS's favorite! It now hangs in his room and DS still gets, to say goodnight to PitPit
DH also got me this awesome mug.
I use it every morning.
He also had a couple of other things up his sleeve for mother's day, but I will get to that later.
I am going to have to leave off there for now. I have a lot more AoA photos coming, we spent the rest of the day exploring!
Finally I am getting to more of my AoA photos. AoA is such a fun resort I have been really excited to share these.
When I left off we had just finished our shopping at Downtown Disney. I original plan was to order a Giordsno's pizza, because I haven't had one since I lived in Chicago 9 years ago. Then we discovered the pizza at Landscapes of Flavor was actually pretty good so we went the easy route.
DS returning to our building.
I mentioned in my first post that we came to call Landscapes of Flavor, Landscapes of Despair. Allow me to clarify. The food is pretty good, and the CM's are really friendly, but it is an absolute madhouse. I don't have experience with any of the other food courts at Disney so maybe they are all like this, but we found it a very stressfully experience just getting food and checking out was a whole other ordeal! It seems like every time we would go to check out we would be behind someone with a problem. Usually it had to do with the Disney dinning plan, inevitably something they thought was covered wasn't, so then a big discussion between mom and dad ensued "should we get the item? Should we just pay cash?" or between customer and cm "well why isn't it covered?" meanwhile junior is understandably loosing patience, he or she just wants their food! And so do we for that matter. Needless to say this experience did not leave me with a very high opinion of the Disney Dinning Plan.
We did survive and made it back to the room with this delicious pizza.
After lunch DS took a super long nap. This gave me and DS each a chance to walk around explore the resort by ourselves and buy some souvenirs!
These are the photos I took while walking around.
The chandelier in the hall of animation.
More from the hall.
The big blue pool.
Nemo birds! Sometimes they would go "mine, mine" when you walked by.
Entering Radiator Springs
Ahhh Radiator Springs.
Near the Hourglass Lake
Our view.
We took turns at the gift shop. I bought a simple souvenir that would keep the mouse with me at all times.
DH got DS the best gift ever!
"Pit pit!" (Pitstop) DS's favorite! It now hangs in his room and DS still gets, to say goodnight to PitPit
DH also got me this awesome mug.
I use it every morning.
He also had a couple of other things up his sleeve for mother's day, but I will get to that later.
I am going to have to leave off there for now. I have a lot more AoA photos coming, we spent the rest of the day exploring!
tammilynne
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2011
love the keychain and maybe its because I'm hungry but the pizza looks delicious!!!!
great update
great update
MeeskaMomma
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2013
love the keychain and maybe its because I'm hungry but the pizza looks delicious!!!!
great update
Thanks! It makes me happy every time I grab my keys! The pizza was delicious
I see you return in 6 days!!! How exciting!!!
tammilynne
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2011
yes!!! I'm so excited..... this is going to be the L.O.N.G.E.S.T week ever!!
MeeskaMomma
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2013
Do you have any fun Pre-Disney traditions?
tammilynne
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2011
At 101 days out we watched 101 Dalmatians and I cooked cupcakes with Dalmatian toppers. When we watched wreck it Ralph I bought napkins with Ralph on them and put by their plate at dinner. I picked up Star Wars cups and plates and we used those when we watched all the star wars movies to prepare for Star Wars week-ends. Lots of random things like that. My oldest who is 13 usually just laughs when he sees it because he thinks he is soooo grown up!
We made a countdown chain and each morning my 10 year old takes a link off..
The last few weeks I have been changing the background pic on my phone to different Disney characters and theme park attractions just little things to get them excited
We made a countdown chain and each morning my 10 year old takes a link off..
The last few weeks I have been changing the background pic on my phone to different Disney characters and theme park attractions just little things to get them excited
MeeskaMomma
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2013
I love it!!! I am definitely stealing some of those ideas! Especially the 101 Dalmatians thing.
MeeskaMomma
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2013
Resort day part 2 - Finding Nemo
I took a lot of photos this afternoon so I will probably break this up into several posts.
When I left off DS had just gone down for a nap and DH and I were taking turns exploring the resort. It wasn't long before we were itching to go to the pool and do some more exploring with DS. Of course that meant DS decided he was going to take a super long nap. Eventually we found a way to make a lot of noise while changing into our swimsuits, and wouldn't you know it DS just happened wake up
We started by waking around the back of the resort towards the playground by the big blue pool.
This is the edge of Nemo area. I love the light posts.
The playground is really just a slide, but that was enough for DS.
We did this for quite sometime.
Then we explored more of the Nemo area.
I took a lot of photos this afternoon so I will probably break this up into several posts.
When I left off DS had just gone down for a nap and DH and I were taking turns exploring the resort. It wasn't long before we were itching to go to the pool and do some more exploring with DS. Of course that meant DS decided he was going to take a super long nap. Eventually we found a way to make a lot of noise while changing into our swimsuits, and wouldn't you know it DS just happened wake up
We started by waking around the back of the resort towards the playground by the big blue pool.
This is the edge of Nemo area. I love the light posts.
The playground is really just a slide, but that was enough for DS.
We did this for quite sometime.
Then we explored more of the Nemo area.
MeeskaMomma
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2013
I got cut off on that last post
Next we explored the splash pad.
Getting sprayed with water is not something DS really enjoys, so after he got a good look at all the creatures we decided to move on.
Next up a few more big blue photos and more of the cars section.
Next we explored the splash pad.
Getting sprayed with water is not something DS really enjoys, so after he got a good look at all the creatures we decided to move on.
Next up a few more big blue photos and more of the cars section.
Team Bunch
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2013
Loved reading your trip report. We are going for the first time in August, love hearing another1st timers report. Souns silly but I love your snack mixes, great idea!
MeeskaMomma
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2013
Thank you! I was so glad everything lived up to expectations because we were pretty psyched!
Where are you guys staying? I hope you have a wonderful trip!
MeeskaMomma
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2013
Really cute pics!
Thank you! I think the photos we took at the resort are my favorite. My favorites are still to come!
MeeskaMomma
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2013
The Cozy Cone
After we left the splash pad we decided to skip the big blue pool. It was rather noisy and crowded, and if you haven't figured this out by now, we like to avoid crowds. Instead we headed back to our cozy cone pool.
I did snap a few more not so great pictures of the Nemo section and big blue pool.
And hubby got some more photos of the cars section.
When we made it back to our pool we were able to get a cozy cone to rest in between swims.
DS loved this.
This might just be my favorite photo of the trip. It transports me back to a wonderful peaceful afternoon in my cozy cone. It is now my desktop back ground and DH had me print a copy for his office.
After a swim DS sipped on juice while DH and I enjoyed Piña Colava from the drop off.
DS even found things to climb on.
It was all very exciting.
After some time at the pool we visited with the cars some more.
I got a great photo of DS next to his favorite.
We were ready to explore the rest of the resort but needed to pop inside to get our shirts.
Next up, photos of the lion king and little mermaid sections.
After we left the splash pad we decided to skip the big blue pool. It was rather noisy and crowded, and if you haven't figured this out by now, we like to avoid crowds. Instead we headed back to our cozy cone pool.
I did snap a few more not so great pictures of the Nemo section and big blue pool.
And hubby got some more photos of the cars section.
When we made it back to our pool we were able to get a cozy cone to rest in between swims.
DS loved this.
This might just be my favorite photo of the trip. It transports me back to a wonderful peaceful afternoon in my cozy cone. It is now my desktop back ground and DH had me print a copy for his office.
After a swim DS sipped on juice while DH and I enjoyed Piña Colava from the drop off.
DS even found things to climb on.
It was all very exciting.
After some time at the pool we visited with the cars some more.
I got a great photo of DS next to his favorite.
We were ready to explore the rest of the resort but needed to pop inside to get our shirts.
Next up, photos of the lion king and little mermaid sections.
Southern Bell
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2011
I enjoyed your trip report and thanks for sharing it with all of us! Alot of good ideas! Your little boy is so cute and he looked like he had such a good time!
MeeskaMomma
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2013
Thank you! He had so much fun. I think I am dragging out the trip report because I don't want to stop reliving the magic
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