Wow! 2 weeks in WDW, Dream Cruise, Back to WDW...Castaway Cay Pictures 11.9!!

[WDisneyMom]

Hola! Welcome to my pre-trip report....a place to share my ideas, thoughts, plans, and what not with all of you....you're welcome!! Hope you all join in as this goes from a pre-trip report to a live report over the next 3'ish weeks!

We will be vacationing with 3 other families...4 chicks, 4 guys, 2 villains (my boys) 2 princess girls, 2 princess babies(ish), and a partridge in a Disney themed tree! 14 total! I am so excited....this is going to be awesome! This is our FIRST cruise...woohoo! We have been planning this vacation for close to a year and now it's right around the corner!

Let me introduce mi familia:

Me (S) I love my family and I love all things Disney...that pretty much sums me up but let's add a bit to make it more interesting! I am the proud Mom of 2 amazing boys who are my world and wife to B, who despite a rough patch, means more to me than I can ever express...he is my soul mate, best friend and forever has my heart! When I'm not working or running around for/with the kids, you can find me at home with the family or Disney Researching! We moved from Maine to Colorado 4 years ago for my husband to continue his education and have made great, long-lasting friends over the years. I don't know where the future will take us...I just know everyhing is pretty great for us right now.
Favorite Park: Magic Kingodom Favorite Ride: Kilimanjaro Safari

DH (B) Boston Red Sox fan extrodinare! Genuine, kind, huge heart, loving, funny, always open to new things. Yes, he loves Disney. Well, he likes it well enough but I think he says he "loves" it for my sake. In any case, this trip was all his idea and I couldn't be happier to plan and execute the week of festivities...all the while sharing bits and pieces of information with him as he offers input and suggestions but trusts me to make this a spectaular vacation! DH is a Chef by trade and showcases his talents at the dinner table...he is partially responsible for my connection to Weight Wathcers! Needless to say, Dining is a very big part of vacationing for him...for all of us really, we love our food!!
Favorite Park: I would say it's a tie between Magic Kingdom andAnimal Kingdom Favorite Ride: Splash Mountain

DS12 (M) My first born...my baby. M is a loving, caring, polite little man who is wise beyond his years. He is my responsible son who enjoys Disney World and loves to read all of my reference books but "can you please not talk about Disney everyday, Mom? Please?" Hmmm...No, sorry, not possible kid! A big swimmer in the summers, we hope to put him on a swim team after the school year. Last year was also his first year playing Hockey and he loved it but this year he is playing basketball! HUGE Criss Angel fan! We would love to take him to a one of the Magic Shows in Vegas for his 13th birthday next February. He's a collector by nature...always has been; he can turn pretty much anything into a collection. Rocks, shells, coins, silly bands, pokemon cards, all cards...so it's not surprising he LOVED starting his WDW pin collection in Nov 2009! He also has a vinylmation collection started from that trip...well, if you can call one character a collection!
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom Favorite Ride: Splash Mountain

DS9 (C) My baby, baby. C is a lovebug...always has been; he is one of the sweetest, kindest, loving most affectionate little boys I have ever known. His heart is large as is his love for his friends, reading, video games and yes, even Disney. Although he tends to repeat the same thing as M..."Mom, I love Disney too, but everyday?" Haha! yes, everyday! C started playing tackle football this Fall and loves it. C's relationship with B is extremely close and gets stronger everyday...he is an absolute Daddy's boy where M is a Momma's boy...hmmm, Momma's boy just doesn't have the same ring! C also strated a pin collection during our Nov 2009 trip but isn't as crazy about them as his brother is.
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom Favorite Ride: Spalsh Mountain

Familia Picture: Epcot Nov 2009

Boys being Surprised by their Grandparents: DTD Nov 2009
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Boys reaction to their Surprise WDW vacation March 2011
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First Trip to Disneyland and stay at Disneyland Hotel! June 2011

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Family of the Day at Disney's Contemporary Resort!! July 2011

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Up next....the details

 

[jmb910]

Great start!

Sorry now I can't resist the banana.

 

[WDisneyMom]

Great start!

Sorry now I can't resist the banana.

Gracias, Jen! I love the banana man!

 

[WDisneyMom]

Ok, lurkers! Come on out! I see 65 views and one reply....I don't bite! Well.....

The Details....

October 18-23 Walt Disney World, staying at the Fairfield Marriott in DTD the first night and The Ritz Carlton the last 3 nights

October 23-27 Cruising on the Dream!

October 27-Nov 1 back to Walt Disney World, The Ritz Carlton and AKL split stay....so excited for AKL! This will be our first stay there!

Up until yesterday, B and I have been going back and forth on changing dates so the kids don't miss too many days of school but that isn't happening! It will cost a fortune to change the dates and maybe, just maybe had we thought this through a little more over the past year, we wouldn't have to be worrying about SW fares, etc. Oh well, we are sooooooo excited for this vacation....only 15 days to go!!

Tentative Intinerary:

Wed Oct 19: DTD, first visit to Disney Quest; possibly dinner at Fultons, just not sure I want to spend $200+ on dinner!

Thur Oct 20: Magic Kingdom! Dinner at 'Ohana (first time!)

Fri Oct 21: Epcot Food and Wine!!

Sat Oct 22: Hollywood Studios, possibly lunch at 50's PTC

Sun Oct 23-27: Cruising the Dream! Dinner at Palo and Remy, Brunch at Palo

Thurs Oct 27: MK for MNSSHP (first and so excited!!)

Fri Oct 28: Islands of Adventure (first!) and possibly dinner at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville (first!)

Sat Oct 29: Epcot Food and Wine and Boardwalk

Sun Oct 30: Animal Kingdom Day!

Mon Oct 31: Park Hopping!

Tues Nov 1 Home

That's that for now!!

First Magical Express Trip! November 2009

 

[WDisneyMom]

2 weeks!! Yay! ​

I finished the Fish Extender gifts last night! Woohoo! Yes, I could tell you what they are but then I would have to ....well, you know

I think the thing I am looking forward to the most is relaxation! We are never commando park people...no thank you! We have a general idea of where we will be going but that's about it. We love sleeping in and taking it easy, weird for Disney, isn't it?! It works for us! There is still so much to do and see...hoping we can at least get some of these things in: The Lion King, Expedition Everest (scared!), Beauty and the Beast, ALL of the Countries, One Man's Dream, Toy Story Mania, American Idol, The Magic of Disney Animation....these would be all firsts for our family! Exciting!!

The Cruise...our first cruise ever and I cannot wait to see what everyone is raving about! I have not read or spoken with anyone who has cruised with Disney that has been disappointed! Everyone LOVES the cruises but they can't tell me why!! Just that it's "everything"...can't wait to experience this for ourselves!

Until next time!

Coronado Springs Resort: Our first family trip Novemeber 2009

 

[KatMark]

Subscribing; I'll come back later and catch up...I'm on the way to the pool for our last afternoon.

 

[jmb910]

Can't wait to get you on Expedition Everest! So are we doing that on the Sunday after the cruise on AK day?

Or we could head over there on the 22nd if Studios is too crowded . Then you can get a pretzel with me .

 

[WDisneyMom]

Subscribing; I'll come back later and catch up...I'm on the way to the pool for our last afternoon.

Hi Kat!

Can't wait to get you on Expedition Everest! So are we doing that on the Sunday after the cruise on AK day?

Or we could head over there on the 22nd if Studios is too crowded . Then you can get a pretzel with me .

We are set to be a AK on Sunday, don't know if we will make it there before then.

 

[KatMark]

All caught up. Your plans sound great!

And trust me...you are going to LOVE AKL!

 

[WDisneyMom]

All caught up. Your plans sound great!

And trust me...you are going to LOVE AKL!

Thanks, Kat! Very much looking forward to AKL!!

Now we are debating adding the dining plan to the 3 days at the end when we stay at AKL....to many choices!

 

[WDisneyMom]

Just wanted to share a cute Disney Store find!! Sequin Mickey bag....love it!

 

[WDisneyMom]

ahhhh, more lurkers!! It's time to celebrate because....

Single Digits! 9 Days!! Woohoo! ​

 

[KatMark]

for single digits.

 

[WDisneyMom]

for single digits.

Thanks Kat!

 

[WDisneyMom]

I am now torn on two different things....1. adding the dining plan to our 3 night stay at AKL after the cruise and 2. taking super shuttle to the airport and back instead of driving?!

We are always stressed driving to the airport, finding a parking space in the cheap lot, then waiting for the shuttle to pick us up and actually take us to the terminal...SS would eliminate that plus it would be so nice to be dropped off right at the door and picked up on the return flight rather than waiting and searching for the shuttle bus then hauling our luggage from the drop off to the car. Hmmmm....there is about a $50 difference to do SS vs. Drive.

Now, the dining plan. I love the dining plan, we did it on our first family trip in Nov 09 and thought it was a great value for us! I have been warned that we will probably not want to eat much in terms of table service restaurants after the cruise because you basically roll off the ship but I don't know....we are huge food people. PLUS, we can use the snack credits at Food and Wine?!

any thoughts? or am I just going to hear crickets on this PTR?!

I love this picture of C and Pluto at Chef Mickey's, November 2009

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[WDisneyMom]

Lovely, had a nice long post written and now it's gone! Super Shuttle and the Dining Plan are both out! So much for the grand debate! We will just use our tables in Wonderland card for any table service restaurants we want to go to.

Boma, November 2009

 

[KatMark]

for five days.

 

[jmb910]

That's a cute pic of you guys from Boma. I don't think I've ever seen that one.

 

[WDisneyMom]

So excited!! Packed and ready to go...picking the kids up from school in 4 hours then off we go!!

 

[KatMark]

So excited!! Packed and ready to go...picking the kids up from school in 4 hours then off we go!!

Hope you have a safe journey and a magical time. Can't wait to hear all about it when you get back.