September is a good time to celebrate 40 & 10! - Updated 9/13

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Have you seen the Derby hat one from HS? I need that one!

I did see it! And it is soon cute! Not sure we will have it over to the Brown Derby to get one of those, though... But you never know!

Love the snack info sheets. Hopefully, that works out for you. I may have to try something like that, because I always forget what I want to try or where to find it once in the parks.

Seriously, I get amnesia when we walk through the gate!

Where you get the snack info sheets?!

I made them! I just used Power Point and used screen shots from here and there. I am hoping to make more...

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

It's Saturday!!!! Finally!

Hi everyone! It has been a very busy couple of weeks here for us. The girls had spring break this past week (which some how is almost more like 2 weeks the way it worked out this year with Passover) and since I do work and want to spent my vacation days, in Disney and Myrtle Beach, I don't have days to take off it was a very carefully planning out week and a half of shuffling the girls around. But I feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I was looking forward to a normal week. And then we got some terrible news about a college friend of ours that has passed away. I joke that I am old these days, but by no means should I be old enough to know college friends dying from run of the mill health issues. It was rocked our group of friends to the core. It all hits too close to home. He is survived by his wife (another college friend) and a daughter right around the age of our girls. Which has made the whole thing even scarier! So, now I am looking for more childcare so we can go to the funeral. So much for getting back to normal.

Anyway.... Back to Disney planning! With the news of potential Free Dinning, I have been taking a look to see if it would be worth enduring the long waits to try and get Free Dining. And a couple things come to mind:

• I am not convinced that Wilderness Lodge won't be a part of it. There is only Bunk Bed Rooms and Concierge rooms left. So, unless they are having a really hard time getting rid of bunk bed rooms, I could see Wilderness Lodge not being part of offer.
• Plus as of now, we do not have park hoppers and we would have to upgrade to park hoppers AND room type to get free dinning. And while it would still net out as a couple hundred bucks "free" I am not sure it's worth the headache....
• I also looked at what if they offer the standard 30% offer on room only rates. Well, that is where I think we "could" make some savings. BUT we would have to probably switch hotels?!? (I still highly don't think Wilderness Lodge will be included.) If it was cheaper, I would switch to a few of the other resorts... Beach Club, Poly, Animal Kingdom (Savannah View)
• But of course I have to run this by DH and he hasn't been in the best mind frame (our friend that passes away was his year and he was much closer to him than I was) to really think about it. I think I will wait and see what happens when they release the deal and go from there. I am good with us just staying exactly like we are, if need be.

Since I don't have any photos in this post, I will leave you with some pics from Easter!



Our Annual Carrot Cake that the girls insist on decorating with enough peeps to kill someone!


The girls Easter Baskets waiting for the girls in the morning. Notice the cute cups that I found at Target! They had cups with straws as well, but didn't have the ones to match when I was there. I love the line drawing style art.


Hunting for Eggs. I got 2 Golden Eggs a couple years ago and they each can only find one, and I put "special" things in them. Although this year, its as kind of lame. Oh well..


The girls with all of the eggs they found! Morgan clearly found more than Gwen. But Gwen said it is ok because she found more sparkly ones...

I hope everyone has a great weekend! Oh did I mention it's DH's birthday tomorrow? It never ends here!

 

[OregonMomToWDW]

Sorry to hear about your college friend. It is always surprising for someone my age to pass away.

I got the free dining at POR. I didn't have to switch resorts but I did have to change room types (downgraded). I believe the room only was also released but I didn't pay much attention to it.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Happy Tuesday Morning!!!!!
(147) Days Till our trip!

OMG! What a rollercoaster of a day yesterday. And I am still conflicted!!! I need some advise!!!!!

So, I got up yesterday morning and while trying to get lunches packed and all that other good first day back to school after Spring Break I peaked at whether WL would be part of the discounts. TECHNICALLY, it WAS listed. But I put our dates in and nothing was available for Free dinning or the 25% off. So, I dropped it finished what I was doing and headed to work.

After I got settled and some things done, I logged back in to see what other hotel were offered and if it would make sense to switch. The only resorts that I was willing to switch to was Animal Kingdom Lodge with a Savannah View or Beach Club/Yacht Club. And BOTH were available for the 25% discount. Well, Yacht Club was available, but I was ok with that, I am really looking to gain access to Stormalong Bay! So, I priced them up and sent DH an email. And went back to work.

*****OH, And I forgot the another piece of info. We booked airfare Sunday Night!!!*****
Woo Hoo!!! We looked at flight times and decided it made more sense to flight in Monday night instead of first thing Tuesday morning! Which means a whole day Tuesday AND an extra set of meal credits! So, Regadless, we need to add a night to our trip!


So, back to the rollercoaster of a day... After sending the email to DH, I started thinking about which hotel I really wanted. And I started getting really excitied about staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Having a Savannah View room is def on my bucket list. And this is to be my 40th Birthday trip... So, it would be perfect! So, I spent the day thinking about how I would change our plans if we switched to Animal Kingdom Lodge.

• I should try and get BOMA reservations...
  
• We will need to take the bus everywhere, yes but we will have animals outside our room.
  
• This will make going to Sanaa so much easier!

And then I get home with the girls, we do homework, clean, cook, all that good after school stuff. And finally I can look at some stuff again. And I look at info about Yacht Club to see what the construction is that the site said was going on. And then I look at all the pics of Stormalong Bay and Now I REALLLY want to go there! Sigh!!!!! We have two good swim days planned and it will be hot still September. perfect time to stay there.
Now, I think about how I would want to change our plans to stay there.

• I should try and add in Cape May Cafe
• I think I still have Beaches and Cream dinner reservation, Yes!
• Can we do both of those and Trattoria al Forno?
• Oh the pool!!!!

So, DH comes home and we put the little ladies to bed, cause this trip is a surprise, so we can't talk about it in front of them... DH wants to stick with WL because of the boat. I explain that we can take a boat to EPCOT & HS from Yacht Club. I say we should take advantage of one of the deals since is available and adding a day will hike our cost up. He agrees!

So, now which one?!? We talk it out and decide that we can stay at Animal Kingdom next time, my sister and her boyfriend want to stay there, so we will "save" it for when we go with them. I am ok with this reasoning.... So we decide on Yacht Club!!!! Woo Hoo. Sweet Pool! We eat dinner and I log in to call to change it.

All Circuits are busy...


Try a little later


All Circuits are busy....

UGH! So, I log onto the computer and see you can change your reservation online. I try doing that. Keep getting kicked off. FINALLY get a "good" time and start making out selections. NOW it says Yacht Club isn't available anymore! Whomp Waa... I think, it's ok I knew it was possible by waiting till the evening, things wouldn't work out. I figure I will try and call, maybe it's just an online issue. I try calling....

All Circuits are busy...


Try a little later


All Circuits are busy....

Sooooooo, I totally switch gears and just try and add the extra night. I was starting to see visions of having to stay one night at somewhere else and DH being crabby and all that good stuff. I log back in start doing that. And SOME HOW, there are now 25% availbility for WL! So, I feverishly try and get that booked. And after much persistance I got it!!!! I was able to add a night (with dinning) and still manage to save $200!!!!

I book it. Do a little happy dance in my head.

And THEN my head starts going in circles. But what about Stomalong Bay! That pool! DH says it's up to me. But that is no help!!!!

I look and if I just do a regular search, techinically it still show up as a choice with the discount. I think I could probably call and still switch.... But now that I got the discount for WL, switching to Yacht Club will be $700 more. Or if you want to look at it ($200 more than what we were paying before the discounts were release) So, I don't know what to do.

I don't know what to do!!!!!I am torn. My plans are pretty much set based around WL but Stormalong Bay is calling my name!!!! Help! Opinions?!?

Wilderness Lodge Pool.


Or Stormalong Bay Pool!

I know that we will be happy at either resort. I know that for sure. Part of me is worried that WL is going to become to $$$ for us and this could be our last stay here. But then our usually schedule time of year to come is February and it sin't really pool whether, so I feel like we should take advantage of Yacht Club this trip. See, I could go in circles with this all day!!!!

 

[ArielSRL]

nd then we got some terrible news about a college friend of ours that has passed away.

Oh no..I am so sorry to hear this.

Our Annual Carrot Cake that the girls insist on decorating with enough peeps to kill someone!

Nice! LOL

The girls with all of the eggs they found! Morgan clearly found more than Gwen. But Gwen said it is ok because she found more sparkly ones...

Cuties!!

*****OH, And I forgot the another piece of info. We booked airfare Sunday Night!!!*****
Woo Hoo!!! We looked at flight times and decided it made more sense to flight in Monday night instead of first thing Tuesday morning! Which means a whole day Tuesday AND an extra set of meal credits!

Wahoo!!

And after much persistance I got it!!!! I was able to add a night (with dinning) and still manage to save $200!!!!

More wahoo!!!

I don't really know what to tell you for resorts. WL has been very high on my wish list for quite some time. When I was picking what I wanted to try and get (because I rented points from my friend whose home resort is SSR), I went through BC, BW, or AKL...then realized WL! Duh! And we love being close to MK and the boat. I'll probably fall in love in June.

However, come 2019, I am going to try for Beach Club or Boardwalk. Just to try something different. Well, if we can even afford it. So, I know we will probably get the chance in the future...so stickinh with WL for us is a no-brainer.

Good luck with your decision though. I will say that I have heard some horror stories about Stormalong Bay and kids being lost or out of site from parents because it is so huge. Your girls are older though so that probably isn't as much of a concern as it would be for me with my boys at this age.

 

[MissMaryQC]

Firstly I'm so sorry to hear about the passing of your friend. I'm sure that DH is having a hard time with it, especially with a birthday upon him. I wish you all peace in this tough time.

Plans look good! Nice you booked airfare; I keep procrastinating on that. The costs of moving are mounting, and even with the help, I feel like it's just so much! Flights are just not in my radar, and they need to be!!

Girl! That is a tough choice. I adore WL, but having eaten at Beaches and Cape May I walked past Stormalong, and stared longingly at it many times. There's a pirate ship. A PIRATE SHIP! I know that's not helpful, at all, but, there it is. I'd switch.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hello!

So, I have made my decision... With much debate and thinking, we are going to stick with Wilderness Lodge! I have based most of my plans around being there, and when Dh and I talked about EPCOT & Hollywood Studios, I don't think we are going to spend a ton of time at either of them, so Yacht Club only makes a little sense. I said that it will be good to stay there once Star Wars Land is open and we want to spend multiple days at Hollywood Studios. And with that, I are staying at Wilderness Lodge!



We love Wilderness Lodge, and DH really perfers taking the boat to the bus. (Can't blame him) This will be our 3rd stay here and i am super glad we were able to get a discount for staying here. And because we got a discount, we decided to add the Park Hopper feature, which let's me get some dinning that I wanted. Plus now that we have a full day on Tuesday, I wanted to change things up a bit.




I am soooooo much happier with these dinning options. They will be all new to us with the exception of Skipper Canteen. And they have all been on my radar for awhile.

We were also talking about what we wanted to do at Hollywood Studios, and right now there is so little that I think half a day will be fine for us. And doing it in the evening we can still see Fantasmic. And I really wanted to do a day and a half at Animal Kingdom, at this point it is probably the park we have done the least in, so I think a day and a half will allow us to really explore the park and see the new stuff as well!

So, that is my new plan! And I am sticking to it! ha!

 

[ArielSRL]

I said that it will be good to stay there once Star Wars Land is open and we want to spend multiple days at Hollywood Studios.

This is my thinking, as well!

So, that is my new plan! And I am sticking to it! ha!

Yeh, I tinkered with changing my plans this weekend (you can read about it on my PTR if so inclined), but I'm not doing it, other than (hopefully) adding a little solo me time at MK on our last night.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Sorry to hear about your college friend. It is always surprising for someone my age to pass away.

I got the free dining at POR. I didn't have to switch resorts but I did have to change room types (downgraded). I believe the room only was also released but I didn't pay much attention to it.

Thanks for the thoughts. It was a hard weekend. But we muscled through the wake and funeral and I think it really helped DH.

Glad to hear you were able to get free dinning at POR! I want to try that resort one day.

Oh no..I am so sorry to hear this.

Thanks. It was hard couple weeks but I think we are getting back to normal. I have been trying to appreciate my little ladies more.

Firstly I'm so sorry to hear about the passing of your friend. I'm sure that DH is having a hard time with it, especially with a birthday upon him. I wish you all peace in this tough time.

It did really feel like it all happened at once! Things are starting to get back to normal.

Girl! That is a tough choice. I adore WL, but having eaten at Beaches and Cape May I walked past Stormalong, and stared longingly at it many times. There's a pirate ship. A PIRATE SHIP! I know that's not helpful, at all, but, there it is. I'd switch.

I know! It's like choosing which child is your favorite! As I had already posted. We are sticking with WL. One day we will stay there!

This is my thinking, as well!

Great minds think alike!

 

[ariane37]

I swore I posted here I'm so very sorry about your friend. You know I'm a few years older than you-not many though-and about 3 years ago a friend of mine from college passed away. They found him in his apartment. We were shocked and yes, it makes you feel old an vulnerable. I hope happy memories comfort you

Now for happy stuff I am SO happy you stuck with WL!!! Because you know I love love love it!!!! I do want to stay at Yacht someday but we've been at Beach; even with the pool I pick WL. Steve loves WL too but has a soft spot for the Epcot resorts, however I feel the boat offers so much convenience that really that aspect is almost a wash between the two.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I haven't done much planning lately. I am in full birthday planning mode! Morgan turned 9 today! So, once I get through this weekend and the parties... yes 2 parties... A family party and a "kid" party. I can start thinking about Disney stuff again! I was just listening to the latest podcast and Craig and Corey talking about Pandora and I can't wait to see it. Which makes me even happier with the plan of doing a day and a half at Animal Kingdom.

A few pics from this morning. Morgan super excited for her mini beenie boo Owl to add to her collection.


Morgan and Gwen


And then Morgan opening her "BIG" gift...

Her very own iPad! She has been using Andy's original iPad for awhile now and the thing sometimes won't turn on take literally an hour to download a movie on or off. The thing was on it's last legs. She kept saying how no one would ever buy her a new iPad and she was "DOOMED" to NEVER have a new one... (the preteen drama seems to be already starting. please help me....)

 

[ArielSRL]

I am in full birthday planning mode! Morgan turned 9 today!

Happy Birthday, beautiful!

Morgan and Gwen

Awww, so sweet and cute!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

128 Days to Go!

It's a rainy blah day here in our neck of the woods. We are kind of lounging around today. My youngest sister is turning 30 and we are taking her out to dinner tonight. Herself and husband are Vegan, so we are going to a Vegan restaurant. Yum! no? meh... She will like it...

I took advantage of the quiet morning and logged in and added our flight info to our account and upgraded our tickets to park hoppers! Woo Hoo! AND I booked our Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets! Woo Hoo!!!

Now, I will have to figure out what we should do for "costumes". This will be interesting, since we are planning on keeping this trip a surprise right up till when we leave. So, I will have to be crafty on what we should do AND it will prob still be hot, so they will probably need to be more bounding type outfits. We will see. I haven't really thought about it yet.

Has anyone done the Dessert Party in the Magic Kingdom? I was thinking about doing that on our Magic Kingdom night, so that we don't have to fight the crowds to get a good spot to see the new fireworks. But I don't know. We did the Star Wars Dessert Party and I didn't feel like we ate enough desserts to make it worth while and you don't get actual alcohol in MK, which makes it less worth it.

Things I need to start tackling:

• Tinkbell Gifts
• MNSSHP Costumes
• Matching Shirt Days
• Must do check lists for each park
• More Snack Cards

I really feel like I am just mutling through May. Willing it to be over, so that June will come and I know summer will start to move fast and then next thing we know, we will be getting ready for school and our trip! We are talking about joining a pool club for the summer and letting the girls join the swim team. Which would mean swim practice Monday - Friday for all of June & July from 6:00 - 6:30! I am not fully sure I am ready for that! But it certainly will make the summer go by fast!

 

[ArielSRL]

So I answered you about the dessert party on my PTR...but yes, the main reason I am doing it is for the convenience factor - so we don't have to spend time staking out a spot. The desserts are just kind of extra. Same for the SW one, though the alcohol will be nice there. I'm a big proponent of spending my money for convenience...lol.

Ugh to 6-6:30 swim practices, though you are right that time would go by fast. I signed the boys up for swim lessons. It's just 2 weeks (Mon-Thurs) but Will has to do parent assist. So I have to do the lessons with him. It's his first time but AJ's third year. I dread it but it's a necessity.

I want the next 3 weeks to go by fast (most specially the next two bc of school) but then that week in Disney needs to crawl.

 

[Raeven]

Has anyone done the Dessert Party in the Magic Kingdom? I was thinking about doing that on our Magic Kingdom night, so that we don't have to fight the crowds to get a good spot to see the new fireworks. But I don't know. We did the Star Wars Dessert Party and I didn't feel like we ate enough desserts to make it worth while and you don't get actual alcohol in MK, which makes it less worth it.

We have! We did the Hallowishes one back when there was assigned seating, and we just did the plaza garden one for HEA. I thought it was worth it especially because that was the first night. I liked the garden seating better than the terrace seating. Now terrace seating is first come, first serve and I preferred when it was assigned, but I liked the set up sitting in the gardens better. However I don't normally do them because I don't eat a lot of dessert there, I only did it because it was the first night.

 

[ariane37]

It's a rainy blah day here in our neck of the woods.

I don't know if you talked to your friend here in Fishkill at all over the weekend, but we had torrential rain all day Sat. It sucked

AND I booked our Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets! Woo Hoo!!!

Yay!! My favorite Disney thang

Now, I will have to figure out what we should do for "costumes".

However as much as I love the party we've never dressed up as a family. The boys wore costumes the first couple times we went but the last couple times they weren't interested Steve and I never dressed up, but last time in 2014 I did wear a MNSSHP shirt with my Halloween ears!

Has anyone done the Dessert Party in the Magic Kingdom? I was thinking about doing that on our Magic Kingdom night, so that we don't have to fight the crowds to get a good spot to see the new fireworks. But I don't know. We did the Star Wars Dessert Party and I didn't feel like we ate enough desserts to make it worth while and you don't get actual alcohol in MK, which makes it less worth it.

I was considering doing the dessert party just to have a decent spot for HEA later this week, but Steve wasn't into it. We did the Wishes dessert party back in 2012 and then the JBJB dessert party last Nov. We really didn't like the Wishes one; I liked the JBJB one but nobody else cared much for the desserts. Steve felt it afforded us a decent spot for the show but overall doesn't feel the dessert parties are worth it. I do think for HEA it would be since now you really need to be in front of the castle (I think). If we don't end up getting a good view on Friday, I may go ahead and book it for Aug. whether he likes it or not lol.

 

[MissMaryQC]

Yay to buying party tickets!!

Costumes are a challenge in Florida cause it's always so hot!! I love bounding! We did it in 2015 as Lock, Shock and Barrell, so fun and really easy!

Hope your May flies by!

 

[CatNipRules]

Following along. WE are going that same time period. My birthday is the 20th of September. Loving your plans so far.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hello! Welcome to Sunday...

Morgan was sick all day, so we had a somewhat lazy day today. She seems to be on the mend, which is good, we have a busy week ahead!

Tinkergell Gifts:
So, I bought my first Tinkerbell Gifts and they came in the mail this weekend! I had seen on someone's Trip Report that they had gotten there girls necklaces for one of the days. I thought that was a great idea! So I scoured Etsy for options. And I ended up ordering these (@ArielSRL - "Inspired" me to start!)

This is what I decided on.

My plan was to put the food charms on the necklaces as well, but I am not so sure out that once I got them. I will find something to do with them if I decide not to put them on the necklaces. I am really pleased with the necklaces, they are a nice weight to them and see fairly durable.

One Tinkerbell Gift down.... Six more to go!

Monday Night: PJ's - This has become a tradition, the girls then wear them for the rest of the trip and after!
Tuesday Morning: Parkbound Giant Button - I am thinking this way they can use that to get autographs to for the trip instead of our big books.
Wednesday Morning: Necklaces - No reason other that they are beautiful. Or maybe I should wait till the last day to have less risk of being lost or broken?
Thursday Morning: Animal Kingdom Day - Maybe something Safari themed?
Friday Morning: MNSSHP Night - So, probably something to wear or use at the party. Maybe some sort of glow stick or light up wands....
Saturday Morning: Rest AM / Park PM - Maybe something to use at the pool for the morning.
Sunday Morning: Last Day - Shirts maybe, that is usually what I do.

Mickey's Not-So-Scary-Halloween Party:
So the other big thing this week was, I had heard about the news about Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Big Thunder weren't going to be open during the party. And I have to admit, I was kind of bummed about it. And was debating if I would want to cancel because of it. But I figured I would wait and do some research on what we will want to actually do at the party. And over the course of the week, they changed that! So, now I don't need to worry about it! Woo Hoo! But it does bring up the question, what can I expect to get done and what should I WANT to do?

Dessert Party:
So, can I book the dessert party specifically for the garden area? How does it work?

I think that is it for now. I have saved a ton of t-shirts on Etsy that I am "thinking" about ordering. I just have to decide which ones I want to order!

I was considering doing the dessert party just to have a decent spot for HEA later this week, but Steve wasn't into it. We did the Wishes dessert party back in 2012 and then the JBJB dessert party last Nov. We really didn't like the Wishes one; I liked the JBJB one but nobody else cared much for the desserts. Steve felt it afforded us a decent spot for the show but overall doesn't feel the dessert parties are worth it. I do think for HEA it would be since now you really need to be in front of the castle (I think). If we don't end up getting a good view on Friday, I may go ahead and book it for Aug. whether he likes it or not lol.

Can't wait to hear how this trip went! I am still pondering the dessert party thing...

Costumes are a challenge in Florida cause it's always so hot!! I love bounding! We did it in 2015 as Lock, Shock and Barrell, so fun and really easy!

Hope your May flies by!

I haven't even started thinking about it... Maybe I will just do Halloween inspired shirts... And just costumes for the girls.

Following along. WE are going that same time period. My birthday is the 20th of September. Loving your plans so far.

Thanks! I am going to hop over and read your PTR after this!

 

[ArielSRL]

This is what I decided on.

So pretty!

So, can I book the dessert party specifically for the garden area? How does it work?

From what I have read, Garden Plaza guests go to the upper level of Tomorrowland Terrace to enjoy the desserts. There are tables there. Then, whenever you are ready to go out to the garden area, you ask a CM and they escort you.

I think that is it for now. I have saved a ton of t-shirts on Etsy that I am "thinking" about ordering. I just have to decide which ones I want to order!

HAHA....for me it was ears...for you, shirts!