~And It All Started With a Wish...and a Quarter and a Fountain~TR link, page 32!

[Poolrat]

A teeny bit early but


HAVE A HAPPY BIRTHDAY

 

[punkin413]

I could have loaned you some Cape May pictures of people you do know.
And there's some pretty delicious looking food, too.

Hey, I know those people! That food looks wonderful. And look how teeny tiny Bella was. So sweet! Thanks for sharing!!!

Your plans look wonderful so far Dawn. You and I both share the same dream resort. There's something about that place that just pulls on my heartstrings.

I can't wait!

Plans look good. I couldn't view many of the photos as they weren't showing up, but its cool as I'll wait for the real ones from you after your trip!

ETA: Disregard the comment on the photos. It was something with my computer. I restarted and was able to see almost all of them but those 2 or 3 that had been removed from photobucket.

Thanks! The internet is so moody sometimes!

I wish I had your planning skills. My poor family was tired after my planning last trip lol..we did a bit of running to make ressies. Next time I have to add in down time.

I'm trying to make myself NOT plan this trip. It's been hard but hopefully I'm doing a good job of NOT planning.

A teeny bit early but


HAVE A HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Thanks so much!

 

[punkin413]

We interrupt these daily overviews to bring you important breaking news.....

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED.....LUKE NOW KNOWS ABOUT THE DISNEY WORLD TRIP!!!

Anna had been keeping it a secret from him b/c she wanted to be absolutely sure she could afford to take him. Well, he just spent 3 weeks with his grandparents in North Carolina and she picked him up this afternoon. I had no idea she was telling him today, but a little while ago I got a series of texts and pictures from her:

So I figured out how I was going to tell Luke about Disney. I found the perfect book at Barnes and Noble yesterday for him to read. I wrapped the book up and told him that I had a small surprise that would turn into a BIG surprise in two months and that he had to figure out what it would be. I gave him the small surprise (book).

He was kind of confused and a little disappointed that it was just a book.

"What do you think it's going to turn into?" I asked him. "Think about it."

I played guess the clues for a minute or so and he finally figured it out.

We're going to Disney World!!! Yay!!!! He ran around the whole house screaming and dancing. It was hilarious! He's so excited! He's already talking about all the places and things he wants to do.


That just made my day! So now Luke and I can talk about all the fun stuff we're gonna do....someone else to help me obsess over the trip!

 

[ScotsMinnie]

Thats adorable! Love the look of excitement on his wee face!

 

[Charleston Princess]

Love the look on Luke's face!!! That's always how I feel, too, when I book a Disney trip!

 

[Cat0727]

Aww that's so cute! Love the look on Luke's face!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Anna is such a great mom! I love that surprise.

 

[hlrababy]

Aw, I bet Luke is so excited to know now!!! That was really neat how she told him his "surprise"

 

[MeMom]

I loved getting your text of that. I looked at it twice in the camp kitchen and it definitely brought a big smile.

The trip is on!!!

 

[DisneyLaura]

Just read the last few updates. I think Seth will do fine at Beauty and The Beast, the singing and dancing he will love. I took my DS12 to the Playhouse Disney attraction when he was 2 and he loved it. Haven't seen it since.

The Food and Wine Festival is something I hope to do someday. When when the kids are older and I can leave them home. I could never do Disney without them now. They would kill me,

 

[VandyFan10]

That just made my day! So now Luke and I can talk about all the fun stuff we're gonna do....someone else to help me obsess over the trip!

I know that was fun getting that text! I enjoyed seeing it also!! And I know you will be very happy to discuss things with Luke for the trip

I was SO worried they would keep the trip a surprise for Makayla too. So I was VERY glad to know I didn't have to worry about screwing up and telling her

 

[Megablocks]

That last picture of Luke is priceless. I love how Anna told him about the surprise

 

[punkin413]

Thats adorable! Love the look of excitement on his wee face!

Love the look on Luke's face!!! That's always how I feel, too, when I book a Disney trip!

Aww that's so cute! Love the look on Luke's face!

Anna is such a great mom! I love that surprise.

Aw, I bet Luke is so excited to know now!!! That was really neat how she told him his "surprise"

I loved getting your text of that. I looked at it twice in the camp kitchen and it definitely brought a big smile.

The trip is on!!!

I looked at it a few times too!

Just read the last few updates. I think Seth will do fine at Beauty and The Beast, the singing and dancing he will love. I took my DS12 to the Playhouse Disney attraction when he was 2 and he loved it. Haven't seen it since.

The Food and Wine Festival is something I hope to do someday. When when the kids are older and I can leave them home. I could never do Disney without them now. They would kill me,

I hope so! He loves music so I'm hoping lots of things will hold his attention at Disney. Hope you get to the F&W Festival someday!

I know that was fun getting that text! I enjoyed seeing it also!! And I know you will be very happy to discuss things with Luke for the trip

I was SO worried they would keep the trip a surprise for Makayla too. So I was VERY glad to know I didn't have to worry about screwing up and telling her

Yeah, I don't know if I could have kept it a surprise. That has to be so difficult as a parent, especially if you're like us and are so excited about it, too!

That last picture of Luke is priceless. I love how Anna told him about the surprise

 

[punkin413]

More changes!!!!

(I told you that would happen, didn't I? )

So Anna, Luke, Seth and I took a short road trip this past weekend, and I came to realize something. We are gonna need more space! As it stood, we had one room at Pop Century. I decided to check into getting a Family Suite at ASMusic. Well, none were available with the free dining promotion I had booked our room under waaaaaaay back in October 2010 (dang it....woulda been nice to have that microwave!). So I asked about an additional room at Pop. Couldn't do that with the free dining b/c that offer has expired and it would have to be a separate reservation.

Hmmmmm......what to do?

Well, my wheels started turning and I realized that Disney currently has a room-only discount covering the dates I needed. So I called to see if any rooms were available at the value resorts with the room-only discount. Found out that ASSports had availability. So my next question was could I transfer my current free dining package reservation over to ASSports and found out I could! So I booked the room-only reservation with the discount under Anna's name, and I'll call a couple days before our trip and request a connecting room/rooms near each other. I know they can't guarantee it but that's not a busy resort so I'm hoping it won't be a problem.

This puts my mind so much more at ease. This way Seth can sleep without having to worry about Luke forgetting to be quiet, or Anna taking a shower at midnight or anything else. Phew!

I've never stayed at ASSports. Any thoughts would be appreciated! We'll have our car so the buses won't be an issue (if they are at that time of year anyway). I've looked pics of the rooms and resort and it looks like a fun place!

 

[MeMom]

We've stayed at Sports twice - once in the Surf's Up building and once in the Tennis building. The buses were not a problem either time. The few times we shared, Sports was first to be picked up and dropped off. On pick-ups, Sports people got seats, Music filled the seats and added some standers, and the poor Movie folks didn't have a chance at getting a seat.

I had one of the best burgers I have ever had on Disney property at the Sports food court. It was either reall, really good or I was really, really hungry. The second time we went, the rooms had been refurbished, so it was bright and clean. The only negative Sports memories were of the large groups of young teenage boys running around, especially in the gift shop. They were doing an AAU tournament, so there were tons of teams there at that time. It still wasn't awful - just a little loud and some boisterous boys.

I hope it works out nicely for you. I don't think you'll regret having the extra space, extra bathrooms, etc. Like I said on FB, if I could afford to get extra for our October trip, I would. I always get up way earlier than anyone else, and I'd like to be able to stir around freely, turn lights on, etc. without disturbing anyone.

 

[TinksThree]

We stayed at Sports once and enjoyed it. The buses were always quick and we were always first--although that doesn't really matter here! We really liked the Food Court and we were in Surfs Up which was very convenient. The football field is fun to run around on. Funny MeMom said the downside were the teenage boys---my reason for not liking it was the teenage GIRLS! We went in March and had cheerleading and dance comps going on...lots of underdressed pre-teen and teen girls!!

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I think Sports is a good choice and two rooms is an excellent idea. Luke will love the sports theme too I bet!

 

[Poolrat]

I was going to try ASSp for the first time this Oct but as soon as I can I will book my first DVC trip .

I had a great pin code so I am kind of bummed that I will be giving up sucha great rate. I wish there was a way I let you guys have it. $55-62 a night can't be beat!

 

[MeMom]

We stayed at Sports once and enjoyed it. The buses were always quick and we were always first--although that doesn't really matter here! We really liked the Food Court and we were in Surfs Up which was very convenient. The football field is fun to run around on. Funny MeMom said the downside were the teenage boys---my reason for not liking it was the teenage GIRLS! We went in March and had cheerleading and dance comps going on...lots of underdressed pre-teen and teen girls!!

I have had two excellent burgers during all of my Disney trips - one was at All Star Sports food court, and one was at Old Key West Goods to Go.

We stayed in Surf's Up once, too. Perfect place to be!

It would have been interesting to see what could have happened if the AAU teams had been there at the same time as the cheerleaders!

The boys weren't bad - there were just a lot of them in groups, and they were loud, as teenage boys can get. In the gift shop, they were throwing balls to each other and making dramatic catches, just having fun, yet it wasn't an ideal place for that since people were shopping with little ones and someone could have gotten hurt. They weren't meaning any harm - just not thinking, really. I raised boys, and I can picture them doing the same just having fun and not really thinking about how it might affect someone else until an adult chaperone reminded them to tone it down.

 

[punkin413]

Hey everyone....well, those of you still left! Sorry I've been MIA lately. Work has been INSANE so any time I have away from it I've been trying to spend AWAY from a computer! I will try to do an update soon and continue on with my "on this day we will be doing this" kind of thing. I've also made some dining changes (big surprise) due to budgetary issues. Be back soon!

Oh, and we are down to 38 days!!!!!!!! Can you believe it????