PTR - I go to an extreme to go back to Disney! UPDATED

[abbadabbadoo]

I forgot to add that I found a Pal Mickey several months ago on ebay also. We wanted to get Pal Mickey last year, and I called the merchandise mail-order team to see about getting it for Chloe for Christmas. To my dismay, the CM told me they discontinued Pal Mickey in October 08, and it was nearly impossible to find outside of ebay. I found one that came with 2 extra outfits, and it looks brand new. When it came in the mail, I opened it immediately, and Chloe played with it for hours. Kaol is mesmerized by it, it's really cute.

 

[abbadabbadoo]

Whew! I am posting late tonight! I didn't have too much extra time to use the computer today until now. My DD Chloe has a program at school tomorrow night, and they are supposed to wear a red shirt and black pants or a black skirt. Well, we had the pants and skirt, but NO red shirt! Isn't that crazy?! So I took her to the mall on a "quick trip" to find her a red top to wear. We found one in the first store we went in, but neither of us were too crazy about it (she is VERY opinionated when it comes to what she wears - its so funny sometimes). So I suggest we go to a few other stores and look. One of them had NOT ONE RED item in the store - not even one - I was shocked. We were kind of frustrated about it, so we decided to take a break from looking for red tops and go in the disney store (LOL like I need an excuse). Imagine my surprise (and happiness) when they had red high school musical tshirts on sale in the front of the store! YAY! So of course that is what Chloe wants. Whew, what a relief - and I am glad that's over!

 

[abbadabbadoo]

So, I mentioned taking Chloe to the Disney Store in my last post a few minutes ago. They have the cutest Disney crocs, and I've been wanting to get some for both her and Kaol. When we got there today, they no longer had her size in the style I liked. And Princess Chloe does not like the style they do have in her size. Oh well, so I think I'll just go home and check on ebay after she goes to bed. Again, like I need an excuse.

I actually found them in several different colors and styles on ebay, which is always a plus. But then while I was on there, I found myself looking up other Disney-related items. Arrrggghh! Stop me before I spend more! LOL I was pretty good (for me). I paid for her Crocs and then I signed out before I could do any further damage.

On a similar note, a fellow DIS-er referred me to Mrs. B on ebay for costumes and or coordinating princess accessories. I was so glad to find her! She found some of the shoes I was looking for and an Alice dress. Yay! I just wanted to share that because I was super excited to have found most of what we were looking for, all from one person!

 

[MinnieNurse]

Its an addiction. I have lost count of all the things I have bought for my trip in August. 3 pair of flip flops, 2 bags, 4 shirts, plain t-shirts to make shirts, transfer paper, swimsuit.....

 

[abbadabbadoo]

Its an addiction. I have lost count of all the things I have bought for my trip in August. 3 pair of flip flops, 2 bags, 4 shirts, plain t-shirts to make shirts, transfer paper, swimsuit.....

That is so true, and so funny!

 

[abbadabbadoo]

I'm going to post earlier today, after my late night last night! I'll jump right back in with my shopping addiction....

Well, I was bad last night....I bought the Alice dress, Pocahontas boots, sequin mary janes, Jasmine shoes, and Jasmine jewelry from Mrs. B on ebay. LOL

 

[abbadabbadoo]

Today, I am anxiously awaiting our tickets to the not-so-scary Halloween party. I'm hoping they will arrive either today or tomorrow.

I know I mentioned it before, but I just want to say again how much FUN the party was last year. We got to meet a lot of characters I didn't know would be out, and we saw some favorites in the parade (I was so excited about seeing the hyenas from The Lion King!). We met Tweedledee & Tweedledum, the Queen of Hearts, and Alice on the Mad Hatter's Treat Trail. We saw Minnie in her witch costume, and saw Snow White with all seven of her dwarves (CM told us the wait for the group was 45 minutes, so we opted not to wait for that one). We LOVED Hallowishes, the fireworks show. Chloe got LOTS of candy and we rode rides with little to no wait. It was great.

 

[abbadabbadoo]

What a crazy week we've had in my household! Chloe had a program Monday evening, and they are having an Accelerated Reader Awards program tomorrow afternoon. Yesterday, we had a baby shower to go to, and today Chloe and I cleaned! Sorry I have neglected the PTR a little. Between all that is going on and the last two nights of American Idol, it seems I get in over my head a little sometimes. LOL

We received the halloween party tickets in the mail today. I excitedly ripped open the package and looked at them. There were 5 tickets, all with the "Celebrate Today!" and WDW logo on them. Chloe's ticket is purple with Pluto on it. The 4 adults tickets are also 4 different characters: Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy. I think it's great that there were different characters. Anyway, that just made me even more excited about our trip!

 

[abbadabbadoo]

Also wanted to share a bit of Disney magic when it comes to booking our flight. From the time I booked the trip, I began routinely checking the airline and travel websites for deals. I received an email from one of the travel sites saying that fares had dropped 17%. I checked on it, but for our dates of travel, the tickets were not discounted. Another two weeks or so went by, and i decided to check directly with the airlines again. I found flights with times that were convenient to us (morning flight there, afternoon flight going home). And on top of everything else, they had a sale, with just 5 tickets left at that price! I jumped on the opportunity, called Mindy & Melissa to let them know the prices of the tickets, and reserved them right then and there. And I'm glad I did. I had an email from the airlines the other day, and just to satisfy my curiosity, I looked up flights from Memphis to Orlando. To my surprise, the flights I booked have gone up nearly $60 a ticket! I was nervous about booking our flights so early, but I am seeing that, at least in this case, it pays to book months ahead of time.

 

[abbadabbadoo]

I'm gonna stray from the regular PTR talk to share something with y'all. My daughter had an Accelerated Reader program today, and it turns out she was second place (second highest points) for the whole grade! I was so proud! She received a certificate, a candy bag, dog tags with her point status and "club" level (such as 25 point club), and a medallion with her name and the year engraved. I was a very proud momma today!

 

[abbadabbadoo]

Now back to the PTR. I'm doing a little better with my massive list of table-service meals....I dropped two more in the last day & a half. My friend Holly just got back from WDW (sigh, i know) and she was telling me about her dining experiences. Also, tomorrow, she is coming over with a surprise for Chloe! I cant wait to talk to her more about her trip!

 

[Craftydawn]

Hi again! I just wanted to say WTG on the plane fare! That can make or break a vacation. I am a little worried about that for my trip next year (it's still a long time away) because I am flying from California and airfare is always outrageous.

What a proud Momma you must be!! Second in the whole grade is AWESOME!

Can't wait for your next update!

 

[abbadabbadoo]

Hi again! I just wanted to say WTG on the plane fare! That can make or break a vacation. I am a little worried about that for my trip next year (it's still a long time away) because I am flying from California and airfare is always outrageous.

What a proud Momma you must be!! Second in the whole grade is AWESOME!

Can't wait for your next update!

Thank you so much! You are so right, the airfare really can make or break a vacation. I was thrilled to find a deal. And I am super proud of Chloe - I cant believe she'll be out of school in 2 days!

 

[abbadabbadoo]

Hi, after a 3-day break I am back. I went to my mom's Saturday and just got back a few hours ago. I'm fortunate that my parents live only an hour & a half away, I can visit more often. We had a good time, and stayed an extra day (I planned to come home last night, but Chloe was having such a good time and begged to stay until today). So thats where I have been. LOL didnt mean to go MIA on anyone!

More on my PTR tomorrow, I promise!

 

[abbadabbadoo]

Hi again! Today and yesterday were a little crazy because this is Chloe's last week of school (they were out for Memorial Day, but had to return Tuesday and today). But she is finished now! And so excited for summer! We actually don't have too much planned this summer so far. Chloe is going to take swimming lessons starting in mid-June, and there is something here called "Princess Camp" at a music/dance studio - Chloe went last year and had a blast, so she will probably do it again this year. And of course, we are planning to get a group of friends from school together to go see "Up" this weekend or early next week.

But back to my Disney trip.....

In the last few days I have really made some progress toward making my budget sheet. I don't have to make it super strict, I like to be a little flexible -but I also like having some type of game plan so that we don't spend half of our souvenir money at the Food & Wine Festival kiosks. Not that it wouldn't be tasty...LOL Josh and I have all these little jars or gift boxes that we designate to different aspects of the trip we need to save for. Examples include baggage fees at the airport, refillable mugs, extra snack money, etc.

Also I am trying to come up with some ways to make a little bit more money for our trip. I am thinking of selling Chloe's outgrown princess gowns on ebay or craig's list or something. Goodness knows we have lots of them. I participate in consignment sales, but the next couple in my area aren't until late August - mid September. Either way though I am sure I will think of a plan....it would definitely be nice to have more spending money!

 

[flipflopmom]

Hey! I am checking out your PTR, it sounds like we think a lot alike. I don't have any princess costumes for Tink and Goofy yet. Goofy can wear one of Tink's old ones, but Tink doesn't want any part of it. I DVR'd Full House at Disney yesterday, and Stephanie was about her age in a Cinderella dress.... Maybe that will sway her!

 

[adisneymama]

Hi I made it over too. I'm glad you are doing so well with the treatment! And what better way to celebrate! We took our first trip when my DD was 14 mos. DS went at 10 mos. You'll be fine. It was so much fun!

 

[abbadabbadoo]

Hi again! So it has been over a week now since my last post! We've had some crazy things happen this past week (crazy in a good way mainly, with the exception of the computer crashing!). Our computer crashed and we just had it fixed. So I've been going through some major DIS withdrawal!

I am doing a LOT better on narrowing down my table-service meal list. Over the weekend, I compared notes with Melissa and Mindy about which character meals they consider "Must Do." Amazingly enough, we all had one of them on our list, and Chloe & Mindy had the same Top 3! So I think we have all agreed on three, plus we are still hoping to surprise Mindy with breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table. We knocked four more choices off the list! Here are the character meals we are hoping for:

1900 Park Fare - Dinner
Ohana's Best Friends Breakfast w/Lilo & Stitch - Breakfast
Akershus Royal Banquet Hall - Breakfast

There is still the possibility we'll spring for a breakfast at Chef Mickey's or Crystal Palace, I guess we will wait and see what happens on June 21 (the day my window opens to book ADRs).

 

[abbadabbadoo]

Hi I made it over too. I'm glad you are doing so well with the treatment! And what better way to celebrate! We took our first trip when my DD was 14 mos. DS went at 10 mos. You'll be fine. It was so much fun!

Thanks, I appreciate that reassurance. I keep telling myself and DH that we'll be fine. Glad to have you on board!

 

[abbadabbadoo]

Hey! I am checking out your PTR, it sounds like we think a lot alike. I don't have any princess costumes for Tink and Goofy yet. Goofy can wear one of Tink's old ones, but Tink doesn't want any part of it. I DVR'd Full House at Disney yesterday, and Stephanie was about her age in a Cinderella dress.... Maybe that will sway her!

Aww, I bet Cinderella will be a great choice for her! I love that dress/costume - my little girl has 2 Cinderella dresses that currently still fit and has outgrown another! That's so funny about Full House - isn't it funny what sways our girls sometimes?

Welcome to my PTR!