FIRST Disney vacation PTR! Let's DO this!!

[Jennifer84]

After reading a few PTRs I decided to do one, too!! I will also do a TR when we get back First let me start by introducing the players!

Me: Jennifer, 28. I am a self-employed single mom, so this trip is extra special because I have never been able to take my kids on a vacation anywhere, let alone a trip like this one!!

DS: Joey, 8. My little man loves pirates (esp. Jack Sparrow) and Star Wars, so those are things that we definitely have to do/see! He's excited about the rides and meeting the characters and getting autographs.

DD#1: Lexi, 5 (will turn 6 before the trip). Lexi is my beautiful princess. She has some developmental delays, but she is really looking forward to this trip! Every night before bed, she asks if we can watch youtube videos of Disney <3 She loves all the princesses, but especially Cinderella! I bought her a Cinderella gown for BBB! She is going to LOVE doing that!

DD#2: Kaitlyn, 2. Kaitlyn won't be going on this trip, but originally she was, so there are pictures of her/ things I got for her in a few of my posts.

[Jennifer84]

Just got off the phone with my amazing travel agent and we are officially BOOKED!!! Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! June 9-14 and we are staying at Caribbean Beach resort! Anyone else going to be there that week?



EDIT: We are NOT going this week or to this resort now. Keep reading!

[Jennifer84]

TA and I are both working on an Itinerary, then we will compare and figure out what will work best. While I don't want to be on a super strict schedule (it IS a vacation after all!), I do want something to go by. Otherwise we will end up killing valuable time doing nothing or just walking around clueless!

I wonder... we are driving to the world (15 hour trip!!!!) and will be arriving between noon-3pm. Is the Electrical parade and Wishes relaxing? Or would I be better off just taking that night off and hanging out at the resort? It would be nice to start our trip with a BANG and also knock a few things off our to do list right away in case it rains later and they get cancelled... thinking out loud here, but would love some opinions!

[jaylensmom]

I just subscribed...I'm planning on being there the same week...I can't wait to read about your trip...

[Jennifer84]

The kids and me

[Jennifer84]

Originally Posted by jaylensmom

I just subscribed...I'm planning on being there the same week...I can't wait to read about your trip...

Welcome! That's awesome that we will be there at the same time!!! Where are you staying?

[MyKidsMom1820]

I just had to subscribe! our kids are similar ages, but opposite genders. Also we share the same first name!!

Planning that very first trip is so special! Congrats on booking, I hope you are showered with pixie dust!

[MyKidsMom1820]

Originally Posted by Jennifer84

TA and I are both working on an Itinerary, then we will compare and figure out what will work best. While I don't want to be on a super strict schedule (it IS a vacation after all!), I do want something to go by. Otherwise we will end up killing valuable time doing nothing or just walking around clueless!

I wonder... we are driving to the world (15 hour trip!!!!) and will be arriving between noon-3pm. Is the Electrical parade and Wishes relaxing? Or would I be better off just taking that night off and hanging out at the resort? It would be nice to start our trip with a BANG and also knock a few things off our to do list right away in case it rains later and they get cancelled... thinking out loud here, but would love some opinions!

We drive also (20 hours over 2 days) I found that the first night we just want to unpack, settle in and swim or wander DTD. Once my kids see the pool its all over I love your family picture! I can never get my kids to smile at the same time!

[Jennifer84]

Originally Posted by MyKidsMom1820

We drive also (20 hours over 2 days) I found that the first night we just want to unpack, settle in and swim or wander DTD. Once my kids see the pool its all over I love your family picture! I can never get my kids to smile at the same time!

Welcome Jennifer! How cool that our kids are the same ages! A good friend of mine is a photographer and she took TONS of pictures that day... this is the ONLY one where everyone is looking at the camera and smiling!

I have decided to just hang out at the resort on check in day. I think I will be so tired, I don't want to spend the money on the extra ticket and not use it. My kids are more excited about the pool than going to Disney anyway LOL (Only because they have no idea how magical it is!!)

[Jennifer84]

So this is the preliminary dining plan I picked (as long as they are all available at these days/time frames). We are on the DP.

Day 1 Arrival (6/9) - Dinner at resort food court.

Day 2 (6/10)- Hollywood Studios- Breakfast in our room, Lunch at Pizza Planet, Dinner at Hollywood & Vine

Day 3 (6/11)- Epcot - **Bibbidy Bobbity Boutique DTD** Breakfast at Askershus, Lunch at resort food court, Dinner snacking around the world

Day 4 (6/12) - Animal Kingdom - Breakfast at Tusker House, Lunch at Rainforest Cafe, Dinner at Chef Mickey's

Day 5 (6/13) - **Pirates League** Magic Kingdom - Breakfast in our room, Lunch at Pinocchio's Village Haus, Dinner in our room

Day 6 Leave (6/14)- Magic Kingdom- Breakfast in our room, Lunch at Be Our Guest, Dinner on the road

So, I would love to know how you would rate these places (I've never been there, remember!!)

EDIT: New dates, new ADRs! Keep reading!

[MyKidsMom1820]

Originally Posted by Jennifer84

So this is the preliminary dining plan I picked (as long as they are all available at these days/time frames). We are on the DP.

Day 1 Arrival (6/9) - Dinner at resort food court.

Day 2 (6/10)- Hollywood Studios- Breakfast in our room, Lunch at Pizza Planet, Dinner at Hollywood & Vine

Day 3 (6/11)- Epcot - **Bibbidy Bobbity Boutique DTD** Breakfast at Askershus, Lunch at resort food court, Dinner snacking around the world

Day 4 (6/12) - Animal Kingdom - Breakfast at Tusker House, Lunch at Rainforest Cafe, Dinner at Chef Mickey's

Day 5 (6/13) - **Pirates League** Magic Kingdom - Breakfast in our room, Lunch at Pinocchio's Village Haus, Dinner in our room

Day 6 Leave (6/14)- Magic Kingdom- Breakfast in our room, Lunch at Be Our Guest, Dinner on the road

So, I would love to know how you would rate these places (I've never been there, remember!!)

A few things... if you are dining at Hollywood and Vine I believe you can get preferred seating for fantasmic, you should look into this. Also I have seen that you must be in line at BOG by a certain time to make the lunch time counter service cut off. I am not sure what time the cut off is. I have seen it posted on here or maybe the wdw magic boards..

I think your selections of ADRs are great for your first trip! I will say that we had tons of ADR's scheduled for our first trip and we ended up cxling a few that just didn't work for us when we got there, but we kept all the character ones. Those were awesome to us because then we didn't feel like wasting our time in lines to see characters in the park. KWIM?

I haven't been to most of the sit downs, but Hollywood and Vine, which some people don't like but we really enjoyed for character breakfast. We too are planning pizza planet for DHS day, standard fast food pizza, but the kids love the arcade.... bring a few quarters! Our kids LOOOOVED the funnel cakes.. We r from the north and they had never heard of a funnel cake... I guess we are sheltered up in Michigan!

I would love to try BOG too, we are playing it by ear. No matter where you eat it will be magical and chances are you will be hooked and your first trip will not be your last!

Have a magical Saturday!

[happybelle]

Joining in. I love to see others thought process and learn.

[Jennifer84]

Mabe it's because it's our first trip to Disney World, or maybe it will be like this every time we go, but I have been Disney CRAZY since I first decided we were going! I LIVE on the DISboards, reading every tip, CBR thread, PTR and TR I can find. I have also made a point to buy something for our trip each week. So far, I have bought rain ponchos (for $1 each, thanks to a tip I read on the DIS!), autograph books and Mickey/Minnie ear hats from the Disney store, a BBB Cinderella dress for my DD(5) from eBay for just $7, and a super cute Minnie dress for my other DD(2) for $20. I will try and get a picture of the girls wearing their dresses tomorrow. Also, thanks to the DIS, I found the DISigners forum and I have requested a DISign to make T-shirts for the kids, too!

My kids know that we are going the day after school gets out, and since they are counting down the days until school is out in school, they come home every day and let me know how many days until our trip! (Although they are wrong because their teacher isn't counting weekends/holidays, but they won't know the difference!) I had thought about just surprising them, but I decided that it would be more fun if we could plan the trip together. I'm glad I told them, because we are having so much fun watching youtube videos.

Today my son asked me if we could stop at a beach on the way home from WDW for a few hours. "It's even free, mom!" Ummm OF COURSE we can!!! Of course then I felt guilty that my poor kids have never seen the ocean This vacation is desperately needed, and I am definitely thinking about ways to cut back on my spending so that we can try to go every other year at least. They deserve it!

[Jennifer84]

Originally Posted by happybelle

Joining in. I love to see others thought process and learn.

I am the same way! Thanks for stopping by!

[MyKidsMom1820]

Originally Posted by Jennifer84

Mabe it's because it's our first trip to Disney World, or maybe it will be like this every time we go, but I have been Disney CRAZY since I first decided we were going! I LIVE on the DISboards, reading every tip, CBR thread, PTR and TR I can find. I have also made a point to buy something for our trip each week. So far, I have bought rain ponchos (for $1 each, thanks to a tip I read on the DIS!), autograph books and Mickey/Minnie ear hats from the Disney store, a BBB Cinderella dress for my DD(5) from eBay for just $7, and a super cute Minnie dress for my other DD(2) for $20. I will try and get a picture of the girls wearing their dresses tomorrow. Also, thanks to the DIS, I found the DISigners forum and I have requested a DISign to make T-shirts for the kids, too!

My kids know that we are going the day after school gets out, and since they are counting down the days until school is out in school, they come home every day and let me know how many days until our trip! (Although they are wrong because their teacher isn't counting weekends/holidays, but they won't know the difference!) I had thought about just surprising them, but I decided that it would be more fun if we could plan the trip together. I'm glad I told them, because we are having so much fun watching youtube videos.

Today my son asked me if we could stop at a beach on the way home from WDW for a few hours. "It's even free, mom!" Ummm OF COURSE we can!!! Of course then I felt guilty that my poor kids have never seen the ocean This vacation is desperately needed, and I am definitely thinking about ways to cut back on my spending so that we can try to go every other year at least. They deserve it!

Awesome deal on the dresses! I love me a good deal. Check out walmart online for Disney tee's. I am ordering some princess tee's for dd there....They had some cute ones last time I checked. Target too! Wayyyyy cheaper. You tube is the best! I highly recommend park music cds too... we really love that stuff...