Surprise 1st Trip! PTR ~ 5/9 - 5/14

[liz827]

I finally decided to make a PTR... I have no one to talk to about my current obsession and my room mate thinks I'm nuts Anyway, on to my PTR!

So, last month I got my tax return and I thought, we're going on vacation. My divorce was final this past September and I haven't had a real vacation in over 2 years! I think we deserve it! So, I read some posts on my mom forum and said I'm taking us to Disney! I haven't been in 11 years. The last time I went it was a HS graduation gift to go with 2 of my friends. We had a blast and now I want to share that with my daughter!

The cast:

Me: I'm a 28 year old single mom in desperate need of a vacation! I was laid off last July and finally found a temp job in November as a Database Administrator. I'm hoping for it to become permanent!

Megan: My beautiful 5.5 year old little diva She loves anything from Hannah Montana to Mickey Mouse Club House and has no idea that we're going on vacation to Disney! I asked her where Mickey Mouse lived and she said "In the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse... duh" She didn't even know that Disney existed until I showed her a couple pictures of the castle!

Seriously, she's going to be sooo excited when we get there. So, for the past month, I've been planning, getting addicted to the DISboards and counting down. I've also put together an itinerary book for Megan when we get to the hotel! I'll be sharing that throughout my PTR along with my plans. I hope you'll enjoy my first ever PTR!

 

[liz827]

Details:

Who: Me and Megan
What: Her first Disney trip (hopefully not her last!)
When: May 9-14, 2010
Where: All Star Movies
How: A looong 8 hour drive with a 5 year old. Someone help me on this trip!
Why: Because I need a vacation and what better place to have one at!?

We have the DDP. Honestly, I didn't want to plan anything. All I wanted to do was a meal with the Princesses at the Castle. Seriously, $90 for a meal!? It was cheaper to upgrade our meal plan and save $20 So, now we have table service and I'm psyched! Add in a free $300 giftcard and I was sold.

So, the planning began... and hasn't stopped! I'll post my daily itinerary with pictures of Megan's Surprise Book.

This book.... oh, this book took a couple weeks to make. The printing, the cutting of everything out... what the heck was I thinking printing out little Mickey heads to cut out!? I think I got carpel tunnel in my right hand just from cutting everything out. But, I wouldn't trade it for anything, I had to do it secretly and kept everything hidden so she wouldn't find it. Do you know how tough it is hiding something from a 5 year old??

Cover:

 

[liz827]

Technically, our trip will begin on May 8th. We'll drive down the day before our check-in and stay with family that night in FL. Let me just tell you how excited I am to hear "Are we there yet?" "Where are we going?" for 8 hours. My mom thinks it's a GREAT idea not to tell her.... thanks mom.

We'll be leaving from York, SC and going to somewhere in Florida... I haven't figured out which house I'll be crashing at Saturday night. Which reminds me, I should get on that, huh?

I'm sure there will be plenty of potty breaks and movies and snacks along the way. I'll be sure to bring the portable DVD player and lots of Disney movies! She loves Indiana Jones and watches them several times a week! I'll have some new books for her to look at while we drive and I'll have to come up with some new music and games! I just hope she doesn't become a pain in the butt on the trip. I usually drive at night with her, so she sleeps, but I want to make our first day a great one. Maybe I'll just get her up at the butt-crack of dawn, so she sleeps the first half of the trip! Hmm... I'll definitely need lots of coffee that day! I'm thinking I should budget in some Starbucks!

She won't know we're going to Disney until we get to the hotel. Don't you just love surprises??

 

[liz827]

Day 1 - Epcot!

Our day will begin early in the AM. It's about 1.5 hours from family to Orlando. We'll hit the road about 7, check in at ASMovies, get our passes and head to Epcot! We'll be using the buses to get every where, I think I will do enough driving for the week

**Special thanks to a DISer that made the "Days" and "Parks" pages that I used for Megan's book!! Made my life a whole lot easier!**

Had to add in a map, so she knows where we're going!

On my list of things to do at Epcot....

~Kim Possible adventure for Megan... I'm sure she's going to love it!
~A must - check out the France bakery. From what I read here and the pictures I've seen, I know I'm going to love it!! Who doesn't like a great pastry!?
~IllumiNations - 9pm

What else should I add as a must do?

Our first ADR! Storybook Princess Dinner at Akershus. What better way to start her trip then with the Princesses??

Menu:

Fireworks:

I'm so excited, it can't come fast enough!

 

[liz827]

I think that's enough for one night... but I'm going to leave you with a couple of my favorite pictures of Megan. My pride and joy... my little diva who loves to get her picture taken and becomes a total ham in front of the camera.

This one is from her dance recital last year:

Easter '09:

 

[liz827]

OMGosh! None of my pictures from Kodak showed up... I saw them last night, probably b/c I was logged in. I'm off to upload to photobucket and update with another day!

 

[liz827]

So, after a full day at Epcot, we're heading to Animal Kingdom!

Megan loves animals. It wouldn't surprise me if she became a Vet when she gets older! We have a zoo membership, so when it gets warmer out we'll be going a lot more! Here's a pic from our last trip:

Our day starts with Donald's Safari Breakfast at 8:30 at The Tuskar House.

Not sure where we'll head from there. I definitely want to take her to see Dinoland and of course Camp Minnie Mickey! She'll love it! Any other suggestions?

At 3:45 we'll check out:

I'm a sucker for Parades and great photo ops!

So, what snack places and counter services are a must?

 

[liz827]

I'm debating on renting a fridge? Is it worth the $10 a day? I would like to bring some drinkable yogurt and a little milk for those mornings/nights that she wants something extra. Of course some cereal bars, apples & PB (her favorite!), and some other snacks that she likes... maybe some peanuts and pretzels.

Should I just get a cooler and refill with some ice every morning? I'm sure there are ice machines all over ASMovies... can I fill a little cooler? Will there be any left over food from meals that we'll need to bring back?

My vacation box consists of (so far):
Glow bracelets
Sunblock
Sharpies
Big Mickey pen

Pretty pitiful, huh? Things I need to get are a couple new coloring books and crayons for the car, ponchos, some big glow sticks and maybe some pins. Anything else you recommend?

I was thinking of getting a couple t-shirts, but I bought some colored tank tops and I'm going to make my own iron on decals for the different days/themes that we're having! I'm waiting for my copy of Photoshop before I can design her t-shirts and I'm so excited, I can't wait!

 

[liz827]

With all the great reviews on the TravelMate bag that I've read, I ordered one in light pink:

What do you think? I like it, I really do, the only bad thing about it is the wide strap... it might interfere with my tan I think I'm going to keep it since it looks like it will fit everything that I need. I don't really need to be wearing it the whole time anyway, I can throw it in the stroller and wear it when we go on rides.

Stay tuned... day 3 coming up next...

 

[liz827]

Hollywood Studios!

On our agenda to check out is:

Megan LOVES Indiana Jones We have them all on DVD and she loves them. Think she'd be scared of Tower of Terror? She doesn't get spooked by much and loves watching Harry Potter... strange, I know, some kids freak and can sit and watch hours of HP! Not sure what else is a must here... I guess I'll have to do some more research

Our ADR for the day is:

She's going to love this place! From what I remember, we had great interaction with our Uncle and he tried to feed me my ice cream

 

[liz827]

Day 4... Ahh... sweet relaxation! maybe...

The plan is pool day and relaxation since we have an ADR at Planet Hollywood at 5pm and I REALLY want to do Characters in Flight!

I was thinking of giving her the option of going back to Epcot, Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom. I think I would have had my fill of AK, so maybe just the first 2 It's up to her, it's all about her this trip Our next 2 days are set for MK, so maybe relaxation is the best bet.

On a side note, I'm still waiting for my brother me CS5, so I can get crackin' on the designs for Megan's tank tops. I talked to him yesterday and he forgot to send it to me

 

[liz827]

Finally! Magic Kingdom!!

Where to begin here!?

She's going to love MK! Actually, there's not much that she's not going to love! I think the best part of the day is going to be our lunch at Cinderella's castle!

Cinderella is her favorite! I will have a Cindy dress for her to change into before our ADR for her pictures! She's going to be so surprised!! I think I'm looking forward to this the most! We have the ADR at 12:15!

 

[kymom99]

Your book is wonderful! I hope you have a great time! BTW, AS Movies is a fantastic resort, especially if you like to take pictures! You will love it!