I have to wait HOW LONG to go back to Disney?!!!!

[elizablake]

I have a few updates.

THE STROLLER HAS COME BACK TO LIFE!! DH managed to fix it with zip-ties and a drill. It looks rough. But at least we don't have to worry about anyone stealing it.

My parents are considering leaving Thurs. night and driving half way. We still plan to leave about 5am Fri morning and then meeting up with them mid morning. Any chance one of you guys lives in Valdosta Ga? OK, how about someone who vacations in Valdosta Ga? Valdosta is the half way point and it is the closest thing to a city in south Ga. I need to find a hotel for them.

Which brings me to another question. Now that we have a better idea how the trip down there will go, we need to figure out how/when/where to surprise DD. The only thing I can think of is to leave at 5am with DD asleep. When she wakes up (about 7:00 ) she will have questions about where we are going. I guess we will tell her it's a surprise. We should be in Valdosta by 9:00. Hopefully, she will watch a movie or something until then but I have a feeling it's going to be a long 2 hours. We are not sure what to do when we get to the hotel. Maybe we should let her knock on the door and be surprised when Memaw and Granddaddy are there. I made a bag of presents from Mickey to give her. It contains two activity books that I printed some sticker books from the Disney store, a CD with Disney music, her autograph book and other toys. Also, I have a letter from Mickey:

So, I guess I'm going to give the surprise bag and letter to my parents before we leave. DD is going to notice if I carry a big, princess cover bag up to the hotel room.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm not sure our plan is exactly fool-proof. If any of you are wondering what I'm worried about going wrong, let me show you. I found this on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MIBxhh_R_w

I would like to think that my kid would not be that ungrateful but ya never know.

 

[ksl5f123]

Hooray for the stroller!! I wish my DH could fix things.

That youtube video was SO sad!! I would have felt terrible. Is your DD a pretty sound sleeper? How do you plan to transfer her without her waking up?

I think your note is adorable. Deciding how to give it to her is tricky. Have you already told a story of where you are going? I think it would be very confusing to wake up in the car and not know. I might have the note taped to the seat in front of her, but still have the gifts with your folks. IDK, tough call!

 

[SimmerBaggins]

That is a horrible video!! After all that planning, and the kids start crying?? I'm not sure if it's the presentation by the parents, or what...or the kids are tired?

My first thought is: these kids are dragged to WDW 'way too many times!!

I'm glad you got the stroller fixed -- one more dollar saved. I like the surprise by the grandparents...I've heard that does a pretty good motivational turn.

 

[Brave teacher]

Okay, you have started something. I have been on youtube for the past hour checking out surprise videos now. I had seen the one you posted before and thought how they were so ungrateful. That guy, D i c k, must be really something though.

Your plan for the surprise sounds nice. YAY for the stroller too.

 

[TinksThree]

Your autograph book looks pretty cool!! What a great keepsake that will be!!

I agree with everyone else: That video was awful!! I could just hear what the mother said as soon as the camera went off! You could tell she was going there!!!

The 1st time I took DD (she was 3 1/2 or so) I told her the morning we were getting ready to go into MK! I knew she would never sleep if she knew before! She took it well then and my kids always take surprises well. I think I would make the call based on "mother's instinct"!!

 

[elizablake]

Hooray for the stroller!! I wish my DH could fix things.

That youtube video was SO sad!! I would have felt terrible. Is your DD a pretty sound sleeper? How do you plan to transfer her without her waking up?

I think your note is adorable. Deciding how to give it to her is tricky. Have you already told a story of where you are going? I think it would be very confusing to wake up in the car and not know. I might have the note taped to the seat in front of her, but still have the gifts with your folks. IDK, tough call!

No, we haven't told her a story about where we are going. I try not to lie to her. Well...except the Tooth Fairy...and Santa Claus...and how if she keeps picking her nose, her brain might fall out...and I did tell her that wishing on a star works. I just don't know how she would react if we told her that she was going to _____ and then all of the sudden we are saying that she is going to DW. She will probably be confused and maybe disappointed.

I do know that every kid is different. My best friend’s 5-year-old would not get in a car until he knows where he is going, how long it will take, etc. He would hate to be surprised. DD on the other hand loves surprises. She likes the suspense and excitement of it.

I'm sure she'll wake up when I move her to the car. I'm sure she will go back to sleep but I don't know for how long. It wouldn't be worth the hassle but I know my parents would REALLY like to be there to tell her and I don't want them to miss it.

Thanks for your advice. I'm hoping we can come up with a better plan.

That is a horrible video!! After all that planning, and the kids start crying?? I'm not sure if it's the presentation by the parents, or what...or the kids are tired?

My first thought is: these kids are dragged to WDW 'way too many times!!

I'm glad you got the stroller fixed -- one more dollar saved. I like the surprise by the grandparents...I've heard that does a pretty good motivational turn.

I know the video is horrible. I feel so bad for the Mom. The kids do look tired and I heard something on the video about driving all night. Hopefully, the kids got excited and their trip went well. It does make you rethink the surprise idea.

Okay, you have started something. I have been on youtube for the past hour checking out surprise videos now. I had seen the one you posted before and thought how they were so ungrateful. That guy, D i c k, must be really something though.

Your plan for the surprise sounds nice. YAY for the stroller too.

I checked out a ton of videos too. I'm already planning our next vacation to D ick's house. Apparently we are all missing out on something.

Your autograph book looks pretty cool!! What a great keepsake that will be!!

I agree with everyone else: That video was awful!! I could just hear what the mother said as soon as the camera went off! You could tell she was going there!!!

The 1st time I took DD (she was 3 1/2 or so) I told her the morning we were getting ready to go into MK! I knew she would never sleep if she knew before! She took it well then and my kids always take surprises well. I think I would make the call based on "mother's instinct"!!

Yeah, I have a feeling it was edited out for a reason. I kind of felt bad for the little boy because he seemed truly disappointed. The teenager on the other hand had no excuse for acting that way. He is old enough to take his Mom's feelings into consideration.

My "mother's instinct" tells me to wait until she wakes up and then stop at the next rest stop and tell her but my "daughter's instinct" tells me to wait till my parents can be there for it.

That is so sweet how you waited until you were at the MK to tell her. She must have flipped out.

 

[elizablake]

Our trip is less than 6 weeks away and we are ready to start planning the details of our days.

DD went to a sleepover Friday so DH and I had some time to talk. We took another look at the schedule and considered some changes but we can't seem to come up with anything better.

It just doesn't seem as "perfect" as our itineraries for our other trips. Our two main complaints are:

1. We are going to have trouble fitting everything we want to do at the MK into 2 days.
2. We don't get to go to the AK until our next to last day. We love AK and wish we could have two days.

Here is a reminder of our schedule:

Friday: Arrive mid-day. DTD for a few hours and then relax at the rental house.
Saturday: Long MK day
Sunday: Relax at the rental house all day and then see Fantasmic! in the evening
Monday: EPCOT WS day.
Tuesday: HS day
Wednesday: Short MK day
Thursday: AK day
Friday: EPCOT future world day

I'm planning to post our plans for each day and would love any advice.

 

[elizablake]

After we surprise DD, we will drive the 225 miles to DW. Here are some photos of her surprise bag from Mickey:

I ordered some pins on EBAY and plan to give her a few each day:

We should arrive in DW around noon. We plan to go to DTD to shop and have a late lunch.

Check-in for the rental house is at 4:00. We will probably stop by a grocery store on our way there and pick up a few essentials. That evening we plan to relax, unpack and swim. I'm sure everyone will be tired and hopefully we will be able to get to bed early since we have a big day on Sat.

Sometime before bed we will give her a letter and gift from sleeping beauty:

And the pillowcases:

I think we will probably give her a few pool toys the first evening. Maybe these:

 

[kcandbella]

Everything looks great! I can't believe you are keeping it all a surprise--I wouldn't be able to do it!!! I am no good at keeping secrets!

 

[elizablake]

Everything looks great! I can't believe you are keeping it all a surprise--I wouldn't be able to do it!!! I am no good at keeping secrets!

Usually I'm not good at keeping secrets either. But I know if we told DD, we would have to hear, "Are we going to Disney World today?" every morning. Plus, she knows we are going one day so I can still talk to her about Disney World just not the actual trip.

 

[elizablake]

We have a busy day planned. We plan to go the MK. We were there the same day last year and it wasn't too crowded. DD has a BBB appt at 12:30 and a CRT ressie at 7:00. I am soooo excited about this day. I can’t wait to see DD’s face when she walks into the castle.

Of course, we have a few surprises for DD. She will get a letter from Cinderella inviting her to the BBB and two new dresses:

Here is her invitation to CRT:

We plan to have breakfast at the rental house and leave about 7:30. We are going to take two cars. We have to park at the TTC and ride the monorail to MK. Hopefully we will get through the turnstiles and security with enough time for my Dad to rest before the opening show.

Here is our plan for the first day. I used Ridemax to get the wait and ride times. I know we won’t follow the plan exactly but DH and I like to have a detailed plan to serve as a guide. We have tried to minimize walking for my Father but we still have quite a bit planned.

9:10 AM Get FP for Peter Pan
9:10 AM Dumbo
9:35 AM Winnie the Pooh
9:49 AM Snow White’s Scary Adventure
9:57 AM Mad Tea Party
10:15 AM Tomorrowland Speedway
10:30 AM Get 3 FPs for Buzz and 2 for Space Mountain while everyone else rides TS
11:00 AM Haunted Mansion
11:23 AM Get FP for Winnie the Pooh
11:23 AM Mickey’s Philharmagic
12:15 PM DH and my father leave to go back to the house
12:15 PM DD, Mom and I check in for 12:30 BBB appt
1:15 PM Get 5 FP for Buzz.
DD, Mom and I may stay for a while or leave depending on how we feel. I would love to meet some characters or do some shopping.

Afternoon break at the rental house.

5:30 PM Buzz Lightyear (use FPs)
5:45 PM DD, Mom and Dad use their other Buzz FPs
5:45 PM DH and I use our Space Mountain FPs
6:06 PM Tomorrowland Transit Authority (if time)
6:45 PM Check in for CRT
8:30 PM Peter Pan (use FPs)
8:46 PM Winnie the Pooh (use FPs)
9:30 PM Find a spot for Wishes

Go back to the rental house and sleep for 12 hours. If my Father survives, it’s going to be a great day!

DH and I are considering an alternative itinerary but it would mean skipping Dumbo. I’m pretty sure DD wants to meet the Fairies. This schedule would include the Fairies but not Dumbo:

9:10 AM Get 3 FPs for Buzz and 2 for Space Mountain while everyone else takes DD to Tomorrowland Speedway.
9:10 AM Tomorrowland Speedway
9:23 AM Winnie the Pooh
9:35 AM Wait at the Toontown entrance.
9:45 AM Pixie Hollow
10:15 AM Break (while I get FPs for Peter Pan)
10:31 AM Mad Tea Party
10:47 AM It’s a Small World
11:08 AM Cinderella’s Carrousel
11:21 AM Mickey’s Philharmagic
11:50 AM Snow White’s Scary Adventure
12:10 PM DH and my father leave to go back to the house
12:15 PM DD, Mom and I check in for 12:30 BBB appt
1:15 PM Get 5 FP for Buzz.
DD, Mom and I may stay for a while or leave depending on how we feel. I would love to meet some characters or do some shopping.

Afternoon break at the rental house

5:30 PM Buzz Lightyear (use FPs)
5:45 PM DD, Mom and Dad use their other Buzz FPs
5:45 PM DH and I use our Space Mountain FPs
6:06 PM Tomorrowland Transit Authority (if time)
6:45 PM Check in for CRT
8:30 PM Peter Pan (use FPs)
8:46 PM Haunted Mansion
9:30 PM Find a spot for Wishes

Don't be afraid to post any critiques or suggestions. Don't worry, I can take it.

 

[elizablake]

We will need some rest after our busy day at the MK. We plan to sleep-in and hang around the rental house most of the day.

DD will get a gift from Ariel. Here is the letter.

She is going to get a new swimsuit, cover-up, and towel. Plus some pool toys.

We plan to see Fantasmic! that evening. HS will be very busy because of Star Wars Weekend and the limited Fantasmic showings. Right now they only have one F! scheduled that night but I expect them to add another one in the next few weeks. If the first show is at 9:00, we plan to get in line about 7:30. We did this last year and got great seats. Believe it or not the 1 ½ hour wait flew by.

Of course, my spoiled brat…I mean DD will get another letter and present before we leave. The letter is from Mickey and it comes with an activity book that I made, a sticker book and some glow sticks.

Fantasmic! will be over around 9:30. We will make our way back to the house and get some rest before our EPCOT day tomorrow!

 

[SimmerBaggins]

Wow.

You are amazing. You have every detail covered, and came up with some amazing Mom-slash-Disney magic that will make your DD's trip so very memorable...I love all the little invitations! I, too, bring some stuff from home to give to the kids while we're there, but now that my DD's 13 years old, Disney tastes have changed. Enjoy all of your "little girl" moments, as they go fast!!

 

[elizablake]

Wow.

You are amazing. You have every detail covered, and came up with some amazing Mom-slash-Disney magic that will make your DD's trip so very memorable...I love all the little invitations! I, too, bring some stuff from home to give to the kids while we're there, but now that my DD's 13 years old, Disney tastes have changed. Enjoy all of your "little girl" moments, as they go fast!!

Thank you. I knew my fellow Disney fanatics would understand. DH thinks I'm crazy. I'm doing my best to enjoy all the "little girl" moments. I want to take advantage while she still believes in magic and gets so excited about the smallest things. She'll be a teenager before I know it.

 

[TinksThree]

I love all of the little gifts and letters! I think she will be so very excited! I used to do things like this for my kids but they have out grown this, so cherish it! I am thankful that they love Disney, though! They still clamor to see the characters and enjoy the little things. That could be because they didn't get to go when they were younger though!!

I like both plans....I guess it depends on if Dumbo or the Princesses are more important. But who knows, Dumbo could fit in somewhere along the way! Did you get the times from Ridemax? I had thought about using them next time but I was already knee deep in TouringPlans! I have times just like that in my plans and I had to preface my family seeing the "schedule" with "This is just a guide!" They thought it meant we had to be at each place at a certain time!!! I told them I am not a total drill sergeant!!!

 

[elizablake]

That could be because they didn't get to go when they were younger though!!

It's just proof that you are raising them well.

I like both plans....I guess it depends on if Dumbo or the Princesses are more important. But who knows, Dumbo could fit in somewhere along the way! Did you get the times from Ridemax? I had thought about using them next time but I was already knee deep in TouringPlans! I have times just like that in my plans and I had to preface my family seeing the "schedule" with "This is just a guide!" They thought it meant we had to be at each place at a certain time!!! I told them I am not a total drill sergeant!!!

Our first trip we used Touring Plans and TGM mostly because we had no idea what we were doing. DH and I thought the idea of a touring plan was crazy. We had never been on a vacation with a schedule. But we printed them anyway and found that we enjoyed our days more with a plan because we spent so much less time wondering around and waiting in long lines.

On our second trip we had 3 extra kids and we didn't want them fighting. So we planned each and every detail of our days. We were surprised at how much we liked it. Of course, the planning was fun and we never felt overwhelmed. We knew we had a plan and would get to do everything we wanted so we were free to just relax and enjoy our day. Yeah, we made some spontaneous decisions but most of the time we stuck to the plan. I used Ridemax for this trip. I love how you can customize a plan. I usually break the day into small sections so I have more control over the order of the rides. We found that Ridemax overestimates the waiting time so we were ahead of our schedule most days last June. I love the way Ridemax also estimates the "ride time" and "walking time" to the next attraction.

 

[elizablake]

It just doesn't seem as "perfect" as our itineraries for our other trips. Our two main complaints are:

1. We are going to have trouble fitting everything we want to do at the MK into 2 days.
2. We don't get to go to the AK until our next to last day. We love AK and wish we could have two days.

Here is a reminder of our schedule:

Friday: Arrive mid-day. DTD for a few hours and then relax at the rental house.
Saturday: Long MK day
Sunday: Relax at the rental house all day and then see Fantasmic! in the evening
Monday: EPCOT WS day.
Tuesday: HS day
Wednesday: Short MK day
Thursday: AK day
Friday: EPCOT future world day

I'm planning to post our plans for each day and would love any advice.

We are changing our schedule again. You guys are going to think we are crazy but we are only going to do one EPCOT day. We just have such a short must do list at EPCOT and such a long one at MK. DH really wants 3 MK days and I can't say that I disagree. As usual, my parents have no opinion. I don't want to go to the MK on Friday because they have evening EMH and we can't attend because we are not staying at a resort. So I think we will go to the MK on Monday instead of EPCOT. Which means we will only be at EPCOT on our last day. Our first five days will look like this: MK-HS-MK-HS-MK. Crazy right?! But I don't know how else to get 3 MK days in.

I do have a solution to the AK problem in the works. I would love to know what you guys think. On arrival day we should get to DW around noon and can't check-in to the rental house until 4:00. We were planning to go to DTD but now I'm thinking AK would be fun. I know it will be hot and crowded but I was thinking we could just meet some characters, see FTLK, ride Triceratops Spin or see It's Tough to be a Bug. That way we will never leave the front of the park and hopefully won't be too exhausted. We will only stay about 3 hours.

 

[Charlefours]

Your DD's autograph book is fantastic!! We are planning on stopping in Valdosta, GA as well on our way down. I think it will be a good stopping point with not that much left to drive the next day.

What a great set of goodies for the car ride and while at Disney! all the invitations and letters are great!

 

[TinksThree]

We are changing our schedule again. You guys are going to think we are crazy but we are only going to do one EPCOT day. We just have such a short must do list at EPCOT and such a long one at MK. DH really wants 3 MK days and I can't say that I disagree. As usual, my parents have no opinion. I don't want to go to the MK on Friday because they have evening EMH and we can't attend because we are not staying at a resort. So I think we will go to the MK on Monday instead of EPCOT. Which means we will only be at EPCOT on our last day. Our first five days will look like this: MK-HS-MK-HS-MK. Crazy right?! But I don't know how else to get 3 MK days in.

I do have a solution to the AK problem in the works. I would love to know what you guys think. On arrival day we should get to DW around noon and can't check-in to the rental house until 4:00. We were planning to go to DTD but now I'm thinking AK would be fun. I know it will be hot and crowded but I was thinking we could just meet some characters, see FTLK, ride Triceratops Spin or see It's Tough to be a Bug. That way we will never leave the front of the park and hopefully won't be too exhausted. We will only stay about 3 hours.

Last year my MK days were similar but we went to Epcot rather than HS just as much....so not so crazy to me! Epcot is a lot of walking to, so that may work better for you guys!

With what you want to do at AK, I think that would work! Even if it is crowded you may only encounter it at the Character Meet and Greets and maybe FTLK! Plus in the afternoons people begin leaving (unless it is a PM EMH) after the parade.

 

[ksl5f123]

OK, I know I am a couple of posts behind, but I just have to comment on your letters/gifts. They are AWESOME!!! I love the idea of having stuff for the "minor" events of the trip like swimming and seeing Fantasmic! I may have to borrow that idea!

Your letters are adorable. Did you design them yourself? If so, where did you get the art of the birds making Cinderella's dress? I love that!

Finally, where do you shop? I have never seen the "Learn to draw" or "Repositionable sticker books"! My DD4 would go crazy for that stuff!!

Karen