Day 1 Epcot -princesses, a turtle, and the beginning of Screamfest 2013

After a successful first plane ride we had arrived at Epcot! It was also our 1st Visit to Disney World! I was so excited for us, for them.

SO EXCITED!

Epcot Family

The big boy was duly impressed with the giant sphere that greeted us and we went straight inside it to Spaceship Earth. He has just started to get into history and this was an awesome crash course in the coolest form available – a Disney ride!

After travelling through time, we went over to get some Fastpasses for Soarin’. Our very first setback was upon us. Our return time was 8:30, we were bummed. I was pretty sure we’d never make it since the kids had been up at 5:30. We soldiered on and found ourselves on Living with the Land. The first bit was sort of ho- hum but the kids really enjoyed seeing the greenhouses and all the different plants.

We then headed off to our dinner reservation at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall to see all the princesses at once for my little princess. I couldn’t get us in to Cinderella’s Table at the Magic Kingdom with only a couple of months lead time. If you’re even considering going to Disney and want to spend a whole lot of money seeing the princesses in the Castle – BOOK EARLY. Akershus was still a lot of coin (thank you Nana!), but dining with Cinderelly at the MK is even more! We figured we would catch up with her the next day :-)

To everyone’s delight Belle, Jasmine, Aurora, Snow White, and Ariel were in da house! My little girl was SO happy. She eagerly waited for each princess with her autograph book in hand. Big boy was into it as well politely asking them for their autographs.

Princess Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
Baby boy on the other had was yelling and crying as soon as we sat down. Rather, as soon as I tried to sit him down. He stiff legged me and started screaming and didn’t stop for about a half hour. How is it that people so little can suddenly have super human strength?

He wouldn’t eat anything. He wouldn’t drink anything. He wouldn’t DO anything – other than yell.This would be the beginning of what we now call Screamfest 2013. Every time we tried to set him down to eat he would yell. Put him in the stoller? Scream. Have Daddy hold you? Cry. Nana? Shout. Mama? Whimper -ok that’s good. OMG.

Did his ears hurt from the plane? Was he getting even more sick? He yelled at Nana for a while as we went on Maelstrom.  We put him in the stroller and he settled a bit as we walked over to The Seas for the Nemo ride.

At this point we realized we weren’t going to make it to stay up for Soarin’. Wanting to do one more thing we almost walked away from Turtle Talk with Crush. So glad we didn’t! If you have kids under 6, or heck, even over – Go! It’s cute and funny and it lifted all of our spirits a bit. Crush zeroed in on our little family and it’s a really great memory for all of us. Duuuuuuude!

We headed home eager to get a good night’s sleep for our big day at the Magic Kingdom!

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Surprise! We’re going to Disney.

Big boy’s reaction is priceless and just what I wanted.

S is cold and not awake and isn’t quite clear until we get in the car what is happening.

I should have taken T’s reaction as a warning of things to come…

 

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DIY Autograph Books for Disney World

I am not so crafty, but I try. Sometimes I do it because my kids are begging me. Sometimes I do it because the occasion demands it.

Other times, like this one, I just want something special and different. Autograph books for Walt Disney World.

I just wanted something personalized, small enough for their little hands, and inexpensive.  I didn’t want them to have the very same, kind of cheap feeling, one that everyone else had. I wanted a lot of pages, strong pages that wouldn’t bleed through. I searched for a couple days online and finally settled on these.

DisneyBook2

I ordered them through Dick Blick Art Materials. They are a simple 6″ x 4″ sketchbook. It comes in black and kraft. They were $5.13 each. I got some stickers and scrapbooking notions from Michaels and, well, all done…


Autographbook for Disney
Mirage Sketchbook Kraft 6″ x 4″

I really love them. The kids will further personalize them as a craft on the plane with some stickers. When we come home I’ll get some photos printed and stick them in there. There’s even enough pages for me to make some notes for them about the special things they saw and did on their trip. And of course a special love note on the inside back cover from mama to each of them.

I also got them each a clickable sharpie in their favorite colors. They are big enough for the characters to hold and will show up really well on the pages.

So it wasn’t like a real craft, really? But I made it for them, and that’s what matters to me.

Seriously? SO excited.

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The Hidden Costs of Disney

So I hemmed and hawed and decided. Then undecided, then decided again. The money has been spent. I think I’m home free. Then come all the hidden costs of Disney. You think that you’re going to just buy some plane tickets and book a place to stay. Not so fast sister.

There’s SO MUCH more.

DisneyMerch

Before we go

I need to BUY…

  • Guidebook
  • Disney merch
  • Autograph books and pens
  • Activities for the plane
  • id bracelets for the kids

I need to BOOK or ORDER…

  • Stroller rental and a parking space at the airport (which is almost as much as a plane ticket).
  • Dining reservation that require prepayments.

While we’re there the possibilities are endless really…

  • Balloons, hats, pins, dresses, cups, books, stuffed things, snowglobes, shirts, stickers, more stuffed things.

These two are in the Wildcard category.

  • Food- Not so hidden – we have to eat, but how much will we actually end up paying? We decided NOT to purchase the Disney Dining Plan. So we’re on our own. Groceries to be ordered and delivered with the stroller.
  • Clothes- ok we don’t really need these. But? Rain jackets that fold up. Warm weather clothes for kids that live somewhere very cold and have grown out of their summer stuff already. Summer stuff?! Masks for the pool and a swim diaper for the baby. And dammit I’m going on vacation for the first time in 6 years. Mama is gettin’ a few new things! New shoes, new sunglasses, and maybe a pretty new dress.

I think I could go on and on!

How do you manage not going broke before and during your vacation? Do you set a budget? Do you stop caring about it at some point? How many snowglobes does one person really need?

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Booked! The five hurdles to Disney

This is the Disney Bible apparently.

This is the Disney Bible apparently.

omg omg omg omg omg omg – We’re going to DISNEY!

I am beyond excited about this. It’s a surprise so SHHHHHHHHHH.

It took a long time to get to the buy however. A long time.

  • First -the timing
  • Second -the money
  • Third -the when
  • Fourth -the where
  • Fifth -the planning

 

1. We decided to wait a while to go to Disney. My kids are currently 6,4, & 2. Maybe you don’t think that’s a while and that we should wait longer. There was a part of me that thought so too. But then there’s the second hurdle to Disney…

2. The Money. We had a good year this year and I have been socking away money into a savings account. When it hit the magic (pun intended) number, music played and lights shone. It was wonderful! Will we have the money in 2 or 3 years. I hope so, but it’s not guaranteed. So we have it today. Livin’ in the moment baby!

3. My children’s birthdays are all within 3 weeks of each other in the spring. I initially thought that a birthday surprise to Walt Disney World would be ah-mazing.

Then I started to do my research.

Other times are cheaper. I would have to take them out of school pretty much anytime we went because school vacations are out of the question. School vacations mean more money and more people. Both of these things I have a very low tolerance for. So if I have to take them out of school anyway ,I chose a time when the crowds are down, the prices are down, and the temps are still a leeeetle bit up. We’re from Boston, let’s admit that my kids will be in the pool no matter the temp ;-)

4. Where o’ where should we stay? Holy hell this was BY FAR the biggest decision. On property OR off property? I did some crowd sourcing (read: I bugged the heck out of my network on Facebook). People have lots of opinions on this. I priced everything out. Went back and forth, and then back again.

In the end I decided that it would be best for our family to stay ON property this time. Because of the ages of my children it seemed like it would keep the schlepping to a minimum and enable us to get back to the hotel for naps for the little and have the big kids still having fun.

We’ll be at the brand new Art of Animation, one of Disney’s Value Resorts. It has the biggest pool on Disney property, an arcade, and a playground to keep them busy when they’re not passed out from exhaustion and need MORE to do. We’ve booked a Cars Suite, which gives us the space we need. Since my 2.5 year old will not remember this trip, getting to see him live in the moment surrounded by the characters of his favorite movie will be priceless.

5. The planning was daunting. Sometimes I like to wing it. However, this is not one of those times. There is so much to know. SO MUCH. There are books, websites, and people that dedicate their careers to knowing what to do at Walt Disney World. I know how to ask question when I need to. I know when to ask for help when I’m in over my head. I also research and plans things to a fault. So I reached out to friends and family for help. I asked an official planner, Pixie and Pirate Destinations, for help. I recommend them highly. Christina was very responsive and thorough. Then I was introduced to someone local – if you give me a personal connection that’s who I’ll pick every time! I thanked the very helpful lady on the internet and went full steam ahead with Dawn at MouseChow.

So that’s where we’re at now – the planning.
The biggies are done. Plane tickets – BOOKED. Resort – BOOKED.

DISNEY – BOOKED!

 

 

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