Boo to You & Turning 2! Oct 2012 PTR *NEW* 10/30 We're Back! TR Link Posted!!

[khertz]

It’s time again for another PTR! I know they are not as exciting to read as a TR, but I hope you will join me anyway. This will be my 3rd PTR, so hopefully I will have learned a little something along the way to keep it entertaining!

Boo to You & Turning 2! October 2012 PTR

Introduction
Our Disney World History
Disneyland Plans!
Oh Because it's Carnival Time!
Airfare & New Clothes
More Airline Advice?
October Itinerary: First Draft
Luck of the Irish
MNSSHP Costume Ideas
ADR list
Disneyland Itinerary
Happy Easter!
Disney's California Adventure Must-Do List
Toddler Traveling
Disneyland Must-Do List
AP Event!
Disney WORLD Itinerary with ADR's!
Odds & Ends & Excitement!!
Almost There...
Disneyland, Here We Come!
Disneyland TR Link!
What's a Birthday Trip Without a Birthday CAKE?!
Day 1 Plans
One More Disney Day? (!)
Father's Day/Birthday Weekend
Day 2 Plans
July 4th & Anniversary Trip News!
Day 3 Plans
Double Digits & Anniversary Trip Plans!
Awesome Mail Day!!
Day 4 Plans
Harmony Barber Shop
Day 5 Plans
Shopping & Other Random Things
3 More Days!
Big (Potential) Changes & DL TR Link
Halloween!
Day 6 Plans
Changing Things Up...Again!
Flight Booked...Finally!
DS's 2nd Birthday Party
Single Digits & Day 7 Plans!
Day 8 & 9 Plans
Headed to Disney World!!!
TR Link!

​

 

[khertz]

INTRODUCTION

First up, the most important information in any PTR…who, what, when, where, and why?

WHO
Here's a little visual to get started with, a picture of our little family of 3 on our most recent trip to WDW in November 2011:

First up is me, khertz! I’m 26 years old, a pediatric nurse, and a lover of all things WDW! I have been to the World 9 times, making this a pretty special 10th trip. My favorite characters are Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Stitch (Love that critter, but hate his attraction!). My favorite Disney movies are The Little Mermaid, Monsters Inc., and most recently, I have really loved Tangled. Magic Kingdom is my favorite park, followed closely by Hollywood Studios.

Next is my wonderful DH! He’s 27 years old, an electrical engineer, and a lover of all things Donald Duck! This will be his 9th trip. His favorite character is (obviously) Donald. He enjoys collecting and trading Vinylmations, both while in the parks and from home. His favorite Disney movies are The Lion King, The Jungle Book, and Pirates of the Caribbean. I didn’t ask him, but I’d guess that his favorite park is Hollywood Studios.

Rounding out our family is our amazing little DS, Paxton! He will be turning 2 smack dab in the middle of our trip, and it will be his second trip to WDW. On his first visit, he loved It’s a Small World, meeting the characters, riding the Carrousel, and discovering the taste of French fries.

Coming along with us are my parents, Paul & Kathy. For the purposes of this report, they will hereby be referred to as Nonni & Poppi since that is their “grandparent names” and that is the primary reason they are joining us on this trip. They said it just killed them to see our pictures last trip and to not be part of the fun! They are the ones who really made me into the Disney planner that I am today. Nonni’s Disney favorites are Winnie the Pooh, 50’s Prime Time Café, and parasailing at the Contemporary. Poppi’s favorites would probably be the array of beers available around the World Showcase! Haha.

Here is a picture of the two of them in WDW on a trip we took together in December 2009 before DS was born.

WHAT
7 days in Disney World! DH and I will be using our Premier Annual Passports for the last time, while Nonni & Poppi will be purchasing 5 day Park Hopper passes from AAA. They will be driving down on Sunday, while the 3 of us will be flying in on Southwest from New Orleans Sunday morning. We will be staying through the following Sunday, but my parents will be leaving to drive home on Saturday morning.

WHEN
Our trip will be from October 21-28, with DS’s second birthday falling on the 24th. We are looking forward to seeing the parks decorated for Halloween again like they were on our honeymoon, spending some time at the Food & Wine Festival, and maybe attending a MNSSHP.

WHERE
We are staying at our timeshare resort, Wyndham Bonnet Creek, for the 3rd time. We absolutely love it there! We have reserved a 2 bedroom deluxe unit, and are hoping to be able to request a fireworks view room like we did in 2009. I’m excited about having the 2 bedroom unit, simply for the extra bathroom with a regular tub to bathe DS in! Las time we had a 1 bedroom presidential with a whirlpool tub and bathtime was quite a monster.

WHY
Because we love Disney World, of course! Also, this trip was the basis for us purchasing the Premier AP’s to begin with. We knew we’d want to make the most of taking DS while he is still free, and it made financial sense to purchase AP’s for 2 WDW trips, plus the money we’d be saving on parking since we are staying offsite and will be driving to the parks every day. We chose the week of DS’s birthday because we had considered going Halloween week, but then decided it had been too much fun taking him Trick or Treating in our neighborhood and we didn’t want to miss out on that. Plus, our AP’s expire on November 4th, so we knew we’d have to travel before then. And we also wanted to go at a relatively quiet time of the year while we still can since DS is not in school.

So there you have the basics for this PTR, with plenty of planning to come! I will also probably be sharing my plans for our upcoming Disneyland trip in May here rather than starting a separate PTR for that trip. Mainly because I’m not really doing much planning for it! There is a shocking lack of information available for the dates we will be there, which immediately let me know that planning a DL trip would be way more laid back than planning a WDW trip. Also, with the short amount of time we will be there, we will be skipping any sit down meals, hence no ADR’s to plan for either. Just a brief overview of that trip…We will be flying to LAX on Monday May 14th and staying through Friday the 18th when we fly to Seattle to spend the weekend with some of DH’s family, then flying home on Monday the 21st. We plan to spend as much time in DL/DCA as possible in those few days, and we are hoping that as touringplans.com predicts, it will be a pretty slow time of year for DL, so not much planning required!

I hope you will follow along with our plans!

 

[disneybarbie]

Subscribing!


Emma x

 

[KTgE]

Subscribing!

I've been a lurker and decided I needed to stop...ha. We leave in 2.5 weeks for our next trip. We have a 3 year old son and an almost 9 month old daughter. This will be our first trip with two. Our son was a lot like Paxton on his first two trips...he loved EVERYTHING! He tells us daily what he loves to do at Disneys. We can't wait to get back and experience all the things he keeps talking about! Have fun at Disneyland! We did a day trip while in Southern Cali right at two years ago and have since been bitten by the Disney bug.

 

[khertz]

Subscribing!


Emma x

Thanks for joining in, Emma!!

Subscribing!

I've been a lurker and decided I needed to stop...ha. We leave in 2.5 weeks for our next trip. We have a 3 year old son and an almost 9 month old daughter. This will be our first trip with two. Our son was a lot like Paxton on his first two trips...he loved EVERYTHING! He tells us daily what he loves to do at Disneys. We can't wait to get back and experience all the things he keeps talking about! Have fun at Disneyland! We did a day trip while in Southern Cali right at two years ago and have since been bitten by the Disney bug.

I'm so excited that my PTR drew you out of lurkdom! Have fun on your trip! I hope your first trip wrangling 2 kids goes well. DH spent a day in DL by himself when he was in California for work last year, and he couldn't wait to get back there with me and DS. That's what prompted our upcoming DL trip. I'm not complaining! I have always wanted to visit California/DL and I just wish we had more time to spend there. But I'm happy with a few days in DL for now.

 

[leshunlenese]

im here!! Love disney in october!

 

[khertz]

im here!! Love disney in october!

Thanks for joining in! We are excited for another October trip!!

 

[KTgE]

Thanks for joining in, Emma!!



I'm so excited that my PTR drew you out of lurkdom! Have fun on your trip! I hope your first trip wrangling 2 kids goes well. DH spent a day in DL by himself when he was in California for work last year, and he couldn't wait to get back there with me and DS. That's what prompted our upcoming DL trip. I'm not complaining! I have always wanted to visit California/DL and I just wish we had more time to spend there. But I'm happy with a few days in DL for now.

Ha, yes, it was time! I need to post a quick PTR...the trip should be highly entertaining in the child wrangling department! My husband's family is going with us and my SIL has two kids the same ages as mine! So, it'll be double the fun. We did Disney with them before we were both pregnant with our second children and had a great time.

My MIL has a timeshare and that is how we wound up at DL two years ago...we spent the week near San Diego and squeezed in a day at DL. We did as much as we could but we still didn't get to see and do everything. And we didn't get to even venture across to CA. Our focus was to do as much stuff that they don't have at WDW. Although, I did insist on riding Peter Pan because it was and is my favorite. Can't wait to see your pictures! We plan to go back and spend several days there at some point. You know how it is...always have to have possible trips on the back burner.

 

[jenny105]

I followed you over from the October 2012 thread. Your son is absolutely adorable! Have you ever been to DL before? I was there last year as part of a TA group so if you have any questions, ask away!

 

[debrapagliasotti]

Followed you over from your recent TR

We will be at WDW Oct 17-20, so its fun to hear others plans for trips during that same time. Plus, we are also looking at a possible DL trip next year.

Cant wait to hear more.

 

[Joyciemc]

I lurked on your last TR, and figured I may as well stop and say hello!

P.S. Paxton is adorable!

 

[afwdwfan]

I look forward to seeing how your plans come together.

 

[khertz]

I followed you over from the October 2012 thread. Your son is absolutely adorable! Have you ever been to DL before? I was there last year as part of a TA group so if you have any questions, ask away!

Thanks so much!!

DS and I have never been to DL! DH spent a day in DL alone earlier last year when he was in California for work and had a day off. He really enjoyed it, and couldn't wait to take DS and I. We had been planning on doing a DL trip when DS was a little older, but I am all for going earlier than planned and hitting both US parks in 1 year!! I will definitely let you know if I have any questions as I start my planning...Sad to say, I have not done much yet!! I started my countdown calendar, so I guess I will have to start working on some rough plans soon!

Followed you over from your recent TR

We will be at WDW Oct 17-20, so its fun to hear others plans for trips during that same time. Plus, we are also looking at a possible DL trip next year.

Cant wait to hear more.

I always love starting to plan a new trip and scouring the PTR boards to find other people going at the same time! I have a bunch of October PTRs open at this very moment in other tabs for some reading while DS is napping this afternoon.

...Actually, I just went through the tabs and yours is one that I have open & ready to read!!

I lurked on your last TR, and figured I may as well stop and say hello!

P.S. Paxton is adorable!

Hello!

I don't know why, but some TRs I am so great at commenting on and some I just lurk. I need to start doing better about commenting because we all know how great it is to get comments!!

And thank you!! He is a handful but he makes up for it with his killer smile.

I look forward to seeing how your plans come together.

Great to see you here!!

 

[jenny105]

Thanks so much!!

DS and I have never been to DL! DH spent a day in DL alone earlier last year when he was in California for work and had a day off. He really enjoyed it, and couldn't wait to take DS and I. We had been planning on doing a DL trip when DS was a little older, but I am all for going earlier than planned and hitting both US parks in 1 year!! I will definitely let you know if I have any questions as I start my planning...Sad to say, I have not done much yet!! I started my countdown calendar, so I guess I will have to start working on some rough plans soon!

DL doesn't require a crazy amount of planning like WDW. It's a lot smaller and much more laidback & relaxed. The best part about it is that it's super easy to park hop! Plus most of the 'off property' hotels are closer to the parks than the Disney owned hotels. I really liked it but it's a completely different experience!

 

[khertz]

DL doesn't require a crazy amount of planning like WDW. It's a lot smaller and much more laidback & relaxed. The best part about it is that it's super easy to park hop! Plus most of the 'off property' hotels are closer to the parks than the Disney owned hotels. I really liked it but it's a completely different experience!

I'm pretty excited about the parks being in close proximity to each other. That is one thing I will probably like about DLR more than WDW! I kind of don't feel lost not needing to plan anything, but it is kind of a nice break too. We so rarely have vacations where we don't scour all of the available information to come up with a plan of what to do, so it's nice to be able to relax a bit this time.

 

[khertz]

I thought I'd take a post to reminisce about past Disney trips! Unfortunately I don't have pictures from all of our trips on my own computer, so it's mostly from more recent trips, but I thought it would be a good way to kick off my newest PTR adventure.

My aunt and uncle took me on my very first WDW trip when I was 9 years old in the summer of 1994. I still have a few very vivid memories of that trip, though most of them consist of standing line and being hot! I was kind of past that "magical" age and I didn't want to a lot of things because I considered them to be "baby" things. But I still had a lot of fun on that trip!

​

I found these on the computer, and didn't ask DH's permission before posting, but hopefully he won't mind! I'm guessing these are from the trip he took in 1989 with his parents.

I don't know what's scarier...Captain Hook or DH's shirt!! ​

I went a few times with my parents and sister after that first trip, and DH (when he was only DBF) even came with us for one of them! We mostly traveled over Mardi Gras break, but I'm pretty sure our first trip as a family was over Easter week because I remember going to Easter Mass at the Contemporary. Those are the trips I don't have pictures of on my computer.

The next time we went was my first year of college before I got into nursing school in 2004. We went over Mardi Gras break and I missed 2 days of classes, prompting me to have to miss a few trips after that...I just couldn't afford to miss that much class, especially once I got into nursing school. I remember that was the trip of weather extremes! At the beginning of the week, we are all in shorts and t-shirts/tank tops, and by the end we were freezing cold wearing jeans and thick sweatshirts!

So after that, I had kind of a long break from WDW, enough to make me miss it quite a bit! When DH and I were planning our wedding and honeymoon, we talked about several different locations, and ultimately decided to go back to WDW. Best decision ever! We absolutely fell in LOVE with the parks all over again because it was such a different experience going just the two of us than it was going with family. Absolutely the only thing I would change about that trip would have been to spend more time there! This trip was in October of 2007.

Now that I had seen the parks dressed up for a holiday, I got the idea in my head of going during the Christmas season! So we planned a big 10 day trip in December, and for 7 of those days we were joined by my parents and DH's mom and step-dad. We had a lot of fun, but my in-laws were kind of a drag. They just weren't as into Disney as the rest of us, and couldn't keep up with the walking and long days in the parks, so they sat out on a lot of things.

Actually, I'll air a little dirty laundry and say that my MIL is probably going to have a HUGE problem with my parents coming along on this trip. She gets very jealous whenever we do something with my parents that she is not included with, but our relationship with her has been pretty strained over the last few years. She "joked" when we came back from our most recent trip about coming with us as babysitter, and DH just didn't really say much to her on that subject. I think she has the idea that DH and I would want to do a lot on our own, so she could keep DS a lot of the time for us to help us out, but that's not at all what we want from our trip. She still has no idea that my parents are coming, and I just know she will freak when she finds out. But my parents really love WDW and of course, love spending time with DS, so I know they would get more enjoyment out of it than MIL will. She just didn't seem to have much fun last time. Not sure how that situation will pan out over the next 8 months, but I guess we will see.

Moving on...

Our December 2009 trip was supposed to be a big blowout adults-only trip before DH and I started a family. It was supposed to get it out of our system, so to speak, because we didn't think we'd be back until our first child was about 4 or 5 years old. I got pregnant soon after the trip, just as planned. But what wasn't planned was for DH to suddenly become interested in collecting and trading Vinylmations! I made a joke with him that he could buy 15 Vinyls if he would take me to Disney World for a weekend, and he said YES! So we went on a 4 day weekend trip that was 2 days of driving and only 2 days in the parks, but was so much FUN! The highlights of the trip were the Summer Nightastic festivities at MK and DHS, and getting DS's first set of Mickey ears!

Well, instead of that trip getting Disney out of our system, it just made us super excited to take DS for the first time!! We both quickly decided we did NOT want to wait until he was 4 or 5 and instead decided that 1 would be the perfect age. Luckily for us, we were totally right! The three of us had an absolute blast!! DS love the characters, and any show or ride that consisted of a lot of music for him to dance to.

​

So that's our Disney World History! We are of course eager to continue adding trips to this list in the future.

 

[ash-n-brensmom]

I'm following from the Oct thread as well. I have read some of your previous TR's and recognized you and DH right away in that first pic. Your son is sooooooooo cute!! That pic with Tigger is the BEST!!

We will be in WDW and WBC at the same time as you guys..just off by a day or two. When we buy our airfare we will have set dates, but it's that week for sure. We stayed at WBC last month and had fun..can't wait to get back there and enjoy those pools!!

Gonna follow along as you guys go through your planning!

 

[khertz]

I'm following from the Oct thread as well. I have read some of your previous TR's and recognized you and DH right away in that first pic. Your son is sooooooooo cute!! That pic with Tigger is the BEST!!

We will be in WDW and WBC at the same time as you guys..just off by a day or two. When we buy our airfare we will have set dates, but it's that week for sure. We stayed at WBC last month and had fun..can't wait to get back there and enjoy those pools!!

Gonna follow along as you guys go through your planning!

Thanks so much! He's as rambunctious as he is cute!

We booked our unit already and settled on those dates because the difference in points between checking in on Saturday and checking in on Sunday was huge! It will be weird for us to do a Sunday to Sunday...usually we like to arrive on Friday and stay through the following Saturday. We have loved our stays at WBC but have yet to try out the pools, something I vow to change this trip!! We WILL have a rest day this year!!

 

[afwdwfan]

I love the family history of Disney. Everybody here has their own story of how they came to be a Disney addict and it is always fun to see those stories.

 

[Imagineer5]

Awesome Ptr already! Love the Disney history! You prob did it for your tr too but I don't remember it. And it wa kinda fun since I just joined you on tour tr journey from last year.

Anyway, I didn't realize you were going from dl to Seattle! Where in seattle will you be visiting? I grew up there - in Madison park which is about 2miles frOm downtown right on lake Washington.

I know you arent planning any sit down meals BUT if you change your mind blue bayou is quite a neat experience. There really isn't any place like it at wdw except maybe San angel inn but even still being in the potc ride is way cooler than the three caballeros lol. Though I suppose new Orleans square doesn't hold ad much appeal to you guys.

Anyway looking forward to joining in your planning.