We're off to see the wizards! Movie day and trip update

[-Hope-]

Originally Posted by Twoboysnmygirl

You withholder!!! You knew this yesterday and didn't tell me?!?!? For shame!!!!!!

NEW PTR!!! You have to have two, trust me, trying to do a PTR for two trips is a mess. I'm making a new one for Savannah & I as soon as I'm done with my Anniversary TR.

Christmas will be AWESOME! I got a taste of it last week and it was FAB!!!

Still cannot believe you sat next to me for nearly 2 hours on that picnic bench and didn't spill the beans. I mean, I knew you were planning to go, but not in 2013 for Christmas!

Actually, Kya and I decided this on the way home yesterday so I didn't know while I was sitting next to you!

Originally Posted by Tink-erin-belle

I am so excited for you!!! November is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE month to go to WDW!!! You are going to have a blast! The parks are so pretty with all of the Christmas lights, trees, decorations…everything! My recommendation is that if you really want to see everything done up for Christmas, go the week after Thanksgiving. It was gorgeous! If you go in early November, most of the stuff is up for Christmas, but not all of it. That is really sweet and mature of Jace to let you and Kya have the mother/daughter trip. If it was Coy, I would be a little concerned that he might change his mind, too. Hopefully Jace won’t, but even if he does, that was a really nice gesture Oh, and I vote for a second PTR, too

I'm so excited too- I had actually thought I would never see Christmas at WDW and had made peace with it so this is extra special!

If Jace changes his mind after plane tickets are purchased it will be too late- but not too late to plan a mother/son trip at another time.

And you guys convinced me- I'll start a new PTR soon!

[BabyEeyore]

Yay! Definitely let us all know when you start a new one. That is so cool that you two are going during Christmas. It is just extra magical during that time.

[-Hope-]

Originally Posted by BabyEeyore

Yay! Definitely let us all know when you start a new one. That is so cool that you two are going during Christmas. It is just extra magical during that time.

I will! Next week is super slow because both work and our regular homeschool activities are taking a break for the holiday. I'm sure I'll be itching for something to do.

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[-Hope-]

We had another movie day today! We had loads of fun in Bikini Bottom and I'll get to all the details in a minute... but first a couple of disclaimers.

1) I know the photo quality is HORRIBLE in the pics I'm about to post. I am not okay with it but when I weighed my choices of sharing not so great pics or not sharing at all I decided to go ahead and share. I'm trying to decide if the camera on my phone is going to be enough to keep me happy on our trip and I have to say, so far it's not looking so good. I have tried lots of apps and learned lots of tricks to improve the quality of the pics but it's just not working for me. I have no control over the white balance so a lot of these pics have yellow glare from the tablecloth. There was an issue with glare when the lighting was too harsh so I played around with different light sources but those turned out to have a LOT of noise. The outdoor pics are fine (which is what a lot of the pics will be anyway) as far as exposure, noise, etc. are concerned but I can't frame the shots well because I can't see my screen in bright light. Oh, and the zoom is a pain because it also adds a lot of noise to the pics. I may have to think about just dealing with lockers and bringing my DSLR. I won't have fun and will be frustrated if I can't get any good pics on this trip.

2) I previously said we were using these days to get to know obscure or older characters but then turn around and have a Spongebob day! I had every intention of doing something else and then we ended up not needing to go to town Tuesday. The video store that will have old/obscure movies is nearly 30 miles away so I wasn't going to run in just to get a cheesy old movie. I searched and searched Netflix for something acceptable but finally decided we'd just do something we have and save the other stuff for later.

So, without further ado...

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?

I know there's no Spongebob attraction at UO but he's there so we are celebrating him!

We had food including Krabby patties and Mrs. Puffs Cheesy puffs...


We also had a fresh pineapple, peanuts for Sandy, Patrick Star's toast (toast cut with a star shaped cookie cutter) topped with jellyfish jelly, Pearl's whale crackers (Whales, similar to Goldfish found at Dollar General) and pink and yellow lemonade...


That's Jace's "Glove World" Lego set in the above pic. He also has a "Flying Dutchman" set so that went well with some gold wrapped chocolates mixed with his treasure...


We watched the Spongebob movie (hilarious), reread a few comics, went jellyfishing and were bubble blowing babies...








Finally, because Spongebob is so silly, we had silly straws and silly string...



(Yes, Kya IS wearing pants but she put on one of her dad's shirts to protect her clothes- and her tall boots- and the outfit was quite interesting.)



We had a really fun afternoon and as Jace was fixing his plate full of Krabby patties and whales he told me that I was awesome so I'm taking that as a success.

[-Hope-]

So, while the kids were watching Spongebob (okay, I was half-watching too- that movie is really funny!) I was running some numbers concerning both of our upcoming trips. (Yes, I'm still going to start a new PTR, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.) I've made a few decisions regarding both...

First of all, the Disney trip is probably going to happen in January or February of 2014 instead of November of 2013. It will save us so much money and Kya says she understands. I know she's a little disappointed because she'd rather see the Christmas decorations but she can't be TOO disappointed about a trip to WDW. She seems okay with it overall. So, since we are still much more than a year out I'll probably wait a bit to start that PTR...

As for the Universal trip... I've cut it down a bit. We're going to go from a Tuesday to a Saturday now instead of Saturday to Friday. This will help us accommodate the direct Orlando flights at our regional airport and will save us quite a bit of money. The flights will be cheaper, this airport doesn't charge for parking, we'll spend less on the hotel and car rental and will need less for food. We'll also have less time in the parks but I'm being zen and okay with that.

So, the new plan...

I think we're going to stay at the Days Inn (ETA: Its actually a La Quinta, oops!) partner hotel that is really close to the property. It has free parking and they claim to be walking distance to City Walk. Even if the walk proves to be difficult to navigate we'll have access to the iTrolley so we won't have to pay for parking. PLUS there's a free hot breakfast so we'll save a bit on food as well. I had originally dismissed this hotel because the pool wasn't all that impressive but I've decided that the rest outweighs the less than perfect pool.

We'll arrive on a Tuesday evening (and I'll have to change my ticker!! ). That afternoon we'll settle into the hotel, maybe go for a swim and then in the evening we'll walk over to City Walk for dinner.

The next day, Wednesday will be spent in a park- I haven't decided yet if I want to start or end with Harry. We're only going to have two days now at UO and we may or may not spring for park to park tickets, depending on whether or not my mom helps pay for the room and rental car.

Oh, did I mention my mom may not be going?! She has been really unhappy with her current job for a while and may be looking for a new job after the new year. If she does she may not be eligible for a vacation next September so we may be on our own! I know I've complained about her in the past but I'm actually a little disappointed for her and the kids. She would have driven me crazy but she's my MOM, you know? And I know the kids would have loved to have her along. Anyway, we are definitely not going to the beach because we'll need to shore up plans before then (plane tickets will go on sale and the prices usually only go up after they're released) so we needed something more definitive than she can promise right now. We'll still plan as if she and my brother's girlfriend are coming along but since she's graduating from college in December she may be in the same boat as far as vacation time is concerned.

Ack- sorry for the long ramble but I thought you needed the context. So, two park days, possibly only one park per day. We'll spend Wednesday and Thursday at UO so we'll just have to see where we end up first. I think Thursday may end up being an early closing at US due to HHN so that may make the choice for us. We'll go to US when we can stay the latest and do IOA on the other day since HHN doesn't affect it. I don't know, we'll see when the calendars come out I guess.

Friday will be spent at Legoland in Winter Haven. The hours are only 10-5 so we'll check out before driving down. We'll probably spend some time that evening at DTD and then head on to a hotel near the airport. Our flight will leave EARLY Saturday morning (there's only one at the small airport we're using) so it makes sense to stay nearby and we can stay somewhere super cheap, return the rental car, etc.

So, that's it. A quick trip. I'll talk more about our plans in the parks, where we want to eat and our list of must dos in future posts.

[macraven]

there are a few Days Inn in the UO area.

the one you are staying at, is it on Major Blvd?

[-Hope-]

Originally Posted by macraven

there are a few Days Inn in the UO area.

the one you are staying at, is it on Major Blvd?

I think I misspoke (mistyped??). I went back to the site to look at the address and I think it was a La Quinta that I settled on. We've stayed in them before in other cities so I'm not sure why I got it mixed up.

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[Twoboysnmygirl]

Shew! A lot for me to catch up on! I'm unsure what I would do about the camera situation. I can see what you mean, (noise) on the wider shots, although I think your closeup shots look FAB for a phone camera! I think you should probably BRING the DSLR with you, take the phone the first day and see if you really use it in the dark very often, I'm guessing most of your shots will be outside. Then if you decide it won't work that first day, take the DSLR on the actual important day when you go to HP and get those shots with your camera!

I think the plan sounds great!

[BabyEeyore]

If you go to WDW early January 2014, they may still have some Christmas decorations. I'm not 100% sure or anything, but I have pictures from a trip on January 6th, 2011 with the Christmas tree and other lights/garland up at the Magic Kingdom (though there are none of the castle all lit up, so those may have already been taken down). I think they come down throughout the first week of January.

[-Hope-]

Originally Posted by BabyEeyore

If you go to WDW early January 2014, they may still have some Christmas decorations. I'm not 100% sure or anything, but I have pictures from a trip on January 6th, 2011 with the Christmas tree and other lights/garland up at the Magic Kingdom (though there are none of the castle all lit up, so those may have already been taken down). I think they come down throughout the first week of January.

I had read this about the first week. That may work out but we'll have to see.

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[Alysa]

So excited for you and your girls trip! So fun!