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Disney World planning thread!

  1. Anagram

    eggplant / 11716 posts

    I am not going to be one of those crazy people that buys a whole Disney wardrobe for 1 Disney trip.....but I may or may not have started a super cute pattern for sundresses in red and white polka dots for the girls. Not a costume, but more of a nod-to-Minnie sundress. =) =)

  2. T.H.O.U.

    wonderful clementine / 24134 posts

    @Anagram: Yes! Planning cute outfits is fun! The only thing I worried about with my DD for disney was chaffing with hot sweaty legs and walking in a sun dress. So maybe grab some bike shorts or something to put under it.

    I also always pack our "back up outfits" coordinating in gallon zip lock bags!

  3. Charm54

    cantaloupe / 6885 posts

    @Anagram: cute !! I wish I could sew. I bought a red polka dot dress for DD1 off Amazon last year to wear to Chef Mickey's. It was super cute but the colours all ran when she spilt water on it lol. Glad I only spent 10$ on it !

    We are putting our request in today through Davids rentals for Beach Club in March. So excited, fingers crossed! I just found out my credit card has trip cancellation already included so that makes me feel a bit better about booking this early. @Anagram: who did you end up renting points through?

  4. Anagram

    eggplant / 11716 posts

    @T.H.O.U.: yes, this pattern will definitely call for bike shorts under. It actually comes with bloomer type shorts, but I am a beginner with sewing and they look too complicated--it's a real waist, not just elastic and it has buttons at the crotch. So, I'm totally going to skip it and just do white bike shorts under.

  5. Anagram

    eggplant / 11716 posts

    @Charm54: We ended up using David's because my husband checked his credit card and they don't charge any fees for Canada transactions. We actually tried to use the DVC rentals site first, but they were just so much slower to respond and we actually missed out on one booking because by the time they went to book it, it wasn't available anymore.

    With David's, I told them we could go any week in August, but I wanted a 2 bedroom, and I preferred BLT (anything but Magic view, since it was so much more expensive), Boardwalk, or BeachClub, and they literally sent me every option at every price point and every calendar availability within a couple of hours. DVC kept only sending my one option at a time, so we kept having to exchange dozens and dozens of emails and still weren't getting anywhere. If that makes sense.

  6. twodoghouse

    honeydew / 7230 posts

    @Anagram: @T.H.O.U.: I am that crazy person who has purchased themed outfits for my kids for each day we are there, plus an extra outfit for the night we'll be at Be Our Guest. I'm so excited about their outfits! They aren't costumes, but character themed-dresses for DD and embroidered shirts for DS. And matching hairbows, obviously. Except Alice has already vetoed her Anna dress and said she only wants to wear Moana dresses. I'm hoping she will be a tiny bit more agreeable when we are there, or every day she's going to be in the one Moana dress she has. Also, Blake already told me that he doesn't like Beast and only likes Gaston, so he doesn't want to wear a Beast shirt. Ah, the best laid plans, haha!

  7. Anagram

    eggplant / 11716 posts

    @twodoghouse: haha. My husband would kill me. But he encourages sewing (he bought the machine for himself, actually!) so he doesn't say anything about that kind of thing. Even if--here's a secret--it ends up costing the same once I buy the particular fabrics and buttons and threads I like (I'm picky).

  8. Charm54

    cantaloupe / 6885 posts

    @Anagram: that does, thanks! I've heard great things about David's so we will go through him too. Fingers crossed there is some availability !

  9. catlady

    grapefruit / 4988 posts

    @T.H.O.U.: I haven't but the reviews I've read have been positive. I'm sort of tempted to get it for our upcoming trip (we already have park hopper) but we tend to go back to the resort for lunch/rest/nap so I'm not sure how useful it would be for our family.

    @Anagram: That sounds super cute! Our next trip will be the first time LO2 goes to Disney and I'm already thinking about what cute outfits he can wear.

  10. twodoghouse

    honeydew / 7230 posts

    @Anagram: I ordered everything from Etsy, so a few outfits were very affordable and a few were pricey. I'm not crafty, but my MIL is. shes at the height of tax season right now, though, so I didn't want to task her with a lot of projects before we go. My DH definitely rolled his eyes when I told him about buying all these outfits, but when the coordinating Finding Dory outfits arrived, he admitted that it was going to be so cute. He's actually a sucker for the kids being in matchy stuff, but he just doesn't want to know what it costs.

  11. looch

    wonderful pear / 26210 posts

    I love the coordinating look, but I think it translates better for little girls and my husband would roll his eyes so hard. My son loves him a good mickey tee shirt though, so we go with at least a few character shirts, not costume inspired.

  12. Anagram

    eggplant / 11716 posts

    @twodoghouse: Finding Dory outfits sounds cute!!

  13. Anagram

    eggplant / 11716 posts

    @looch: My husband is not into Disney at all and is still just funding this trip very begrudgingly, haha. But I think he will really enjoy it once he's there--he's never been before, so he has no idea.

  14. looch

    wonderful pear / 26210 posts

    @Anagram: My husband says he hates it, but when he gets there, he gets all into where to go and what to do, so I secretly think he loves it!

  15. twodoghouse

    honeydew / 7230 posts

    @Anagram: @looch: DH is like this too. He says he's not looking forward to all the stress of Disney, or that he wishes we were going back to actual Europe instead of Epcot's version of Europe, but then he also says he's so excited to see what the kids think, too. He basically likes doing anything that the kids are excited about, but this is definitely not his idea of an ideal vacation.

  16. Anagram

    eggplant / 11716 posts

    @twodoghouse: That's how my husband is. He'll kind of grouse and complain about stuff like Disney, but our girls are the biggest daddy's girls and if my oldest so much as MENTIONS something (like if we see a commercial for a new toy or she sees a commercial for a nearby attraction like a zoo), he'll immediately be googling tickets and prices and trying to figure out when we can go. They have him wrapped around their little fingers, that's for sure. So as long as they like it, he will too.

  17. Anagram

    eggplant / 11716 posts

    @twodoghouse: Like we went to Hershey, PA last year and he was also not into that. And he said we should wait till they are older, they won't enjoy it, blah blah. But we went and our oldest LOVED it, and he's said several times this year we should go back. He said we should go back to Hershey instead of Disney!?! But he just doesn't like new things....that's just his personality, haha. I like only new things, so we balance each other out.

  18. twodoghouse

    honeydew / 7230 posts

    @Anagram: Aw, that is sweet!

  19. ShootingStar

    coconut / 8472 posts

    We went to Disney last week. For the most part we had a great time.

    We had a few extra days in FL so we decided to go to in Orlando for that time. We stayed off site at World Quest, which was incredibly reasonable for a 3 bedroom condo hotel.

    We decided just to do Epcot because DS loves Frozen. The rest of the time we spent at the pool or at Disney Springs. The best part was that we were able to 8am breakfast reservations at the Garden Grill, and the park opened at 9. So we were able to get in early to the park and had a great breakfast. Then we were able to book it over to Frozen Ever After. We were right at the front of the line and got in right away. The ride was cute, but I wish I had realized earlier that I needed to prepare for the plunge of the flume ride, because I was holding my 7 month old and kind of panicked.

    We then went over to the Royal Somerhaus to meet Anna and Elsa and only waited maybe 15 minutes. We did a bunch more things around the park and had an early dinner/late lunch at Akershus. We weren't huge fans of the food, but the princesses were fun. By 5 I was exhausted and we headed out. One of the best calls we made was the rent a stroller. They dropped off a double city mini at our hotel at 7am and then we just had to put it back in our hotel lobby. It was super useful.

  20. Anagram

    eggplant / 11716 posts

    @ShootingStar: So you didn't use a Fastpass for the frozen ride and didn't need one since you were there early? What were lines like as you were leaving?

    We are staying close to Epcot, so I plan to be there by Rope Drop, but we aren't going to run to Frozen or anything. What were lines like as you were leaving?

    I ask because I've been thinking about making a Fastpass reservation for Frozen later in the morning, but also going right at rope drop so the kids can go twice if they want.

    Also, what kind of drop are we talking? I'll be taking our toddler, who will be 2 by the time we go on the trip.

  21. ShootingStar

    coconut / 8472 posts

    @Anagram: We couldn't get a fast pass because we were too late. We only decided a day or two ahead of time to go. And yeah, we didn't need it at all. But this trick only works when there are no early park hours. So for us the restaurant opened at 8 and the park at 9.

    The line was pretty long after we left, maybe an hour? It curved around outside the building. We could tell when the park opened because all of a sudden people were showing up behind us in droves.

    The drop was small was small but not ideal with an infant. There was this bump where I almost lost my sunglasses off my head, the a few seconds later it went into the drop. So I was like frantically holding the baby and my sunglasses. Did you ever do Norway as a kid? It's the same ride. Your two year old should be fine, just maybe hold her at the end. My 3 year old may have been a little scared by it, it was hard to tell if he was scared or just in awe.

  22. ShootingStar

    coconut / 8472 posts

    @Anagram: But I highly recommend breakfast at Garden Grill. It was great, flat charge per person and then they just bring you a ton of food all at once. Mickey shaped waffles, eggs, sausage, bacon, cinnamon rolls and fruit. And the characters come by the table. Whole thing only took less then 40 minutes too.

  23. looch

    wonderful pear / 26210 posts

    @twodoghouse: @Anagram: that's it for my husband as well, once he sees that my son is having a good time, he starts to have a good time as well.

  24. mdf106

    clementine / 828 posts

    @Anagram: The drop was fine for my 14 month old, although I did hold him. I found if I got there by rope drop, or even slightly later, I could go on almost any rides without a significant wait, although I know Frozen is probably the most popular because it is so new. I was there over Spring Break, so it was a crowded time.

  25. yoursilverlining

    eggplant / 11824 posts

    @Anagram: my LO is the most cautious, risk-adverse kid ever (so won't go on any ride that's "scary") and she didn't have any issues with the drops in the Frozen ride (or find it scary!).

    Have you ever been on Pirates of the caribbean? It's a similar amount/size of drops - a bit less on Frozen but a similar pattern.

  26. Charm54

    cantaloupe / 6885 posts

    @Anagram: @looch: @twodoghouse: my dh is like this too. When we got married he said "just so you know, I won't be going to Disney every year". .... we've gone 3 of the last 4 years and have plans to go in 2018 and 2019 I think he was surprised at how much there was for adults to do, and of course he loves seeing the girls have the time of their lives. He took the coolest GoPro videos of our trip this year and compiled it into a really awesome montage. He's definitely a converted fan, but he won't readily admit it, ha.

  27. catlady

    grapefruit / 4988 posts

    @Charm54: @Anagram: @looch: @twodoghouse My DH is also a converted fan. He used to make fun of people who only vacationed at Disney, but after two Disney trips (one cruise, one WDW) with LO as a baby/toddler, he has admitted that he loves the excellent service and that these trips are just so fun now that we have kids. It was not hard at all to convince him that we should go back to WDW this year with LO2.

  28. 808love

    pomelo / 5866 posts

    @catlady: I was never ever a Disney fan until we took LO 4 years ago. I used to think Disney vacationers were so un-inspired. But I really am hooked now! I want to go more than my family now. They still want to go, they just don't want to go as much as I do!

  29. twodoghouse

    honeydew / 7230 posts

    How is everyone's planning going? We are leaving on Thursday morning for our trip! The last pieces of personalized clothing (for the kids) from Etsy arrived today, so we are pretty much packed, other than toiletries and my kids' bedtime stuff that they'll be using the night before the trip. (I'm limiting it to one stuffed animal and one blankie for each kiddo. It's like Sophie's Choice over here. Every day they tell me a different favorite stuffed animal that they HAVE TO take). All of our dining and fast passes are set up, but I'm still feeling intimidated by how huge the parks are. I'm just not sure how long it will take us to get from one spot to another, so I'm probably planning in way too much time. Or maybe not enough. There's still the wild card of how much waiting my kids will actually tolerate, and what they'll be most interested in (rides? characters?). So I know we'll probably be improvising with some of our plans or scrapping all the fast pass plans that we currently have. Both DH and I are very nervous about the sleep situation since our DD is trying to give up napping and also doing everything in her power to delay bedtime every night. Hopefully all the excitement of Disney will do the trick to just get her to sleep! We stayed in a hotel the other day and she was up all night screaming her head off. So hopefully it goes better than that. I'll definitely let you guys know how everything ends up! And if anyone wants to follow along, I'll probably be overgramming to an obnoxious degree. My instagram username is in my HB profile!

  30. Anagram

    eggplant / 11716 posts

    @twodoghouse: Can't wait to hear about your trip! I've also being curious about the same thing--how my kids will handle wait times, and if they'll be more into rides or something else.

    I guess I personally am not excited about characters, so I haven't considered that my kids might be really into them? Other than Else and Anna, I don't plan to wait in any lines, but your review might change that if your kids seemed really into characters.

  31. looch

    wonderful pear / 26210 posts

    @twodoghouse: @Anagram: As far as characters go, I would do a "test" right at the beginning of your trip. As an example, when we went to Epcot, there was a photo op with Goofy. We got in the line and my son was fine until we got right up to Goofy, then he wanted nothing to do with it. It was a good test to see how he reacted.

    The thing is I expected him to be fine, he'd seen goofy on TV, but seeing it life sized shocked him!

  32. twodoghouse

    honeydew / 7230 posts

    @Anagram: We have a couple character meals scheduled and I think that will give my kids the opportunity to see a few characters up close without having to wait in long lines. Blake insists he wants to see Gaston, so we'll see what the lines are like for him. Both my kids get shy with strangers, so I don't know if they will actually want to meet the characters/interact with them? My kids don't have a lot of experience with rides, so I don't know what they'll think, but we aren't really planning on too many at this point.

    @looch: Thanks for that tip! I think that's exactly how my kids would be, too. They are all about Santa and the Easter Bunny until we actually get up close! They have been talking about some of the people characters (Blake loves Gaston, and I've hyped up the breakfast with Rapunzel and Flynn so they are excited), but I have no idea what they would think of the characters with the big costume like Mickey, Goofy, etc.

  33. ShootingStar

    coconut / 8472 posts

    @twodoghouse: D's a little bit older than your two, but he did ok on the waits. We didn't have to wait too long for most things - we weren't interested in waiting on hour plus lines, but we did have to wait 20-30 minutes in some places. We rented a City Mini Double and on the longer waits (or walking around for a while) he would recline and watch his tablet.

    As for characters, he's pretty shy with new people and he didn't do that well with Anna and Elsa. He was really intimidated. But then later he asked to see Minnie and he did great.

  34. twodoghouse

    honeydew / 7230 posts

    @ShootingStar: Are you able to take strollers into many of the queues? I was thinking we'd have to park them pretty frequently, but if we could keep them in the strollers I'd feel better. I'm really paranoid that they're going to run off and get lost, even though I doubt that would happen. Grandma and Grandpa will be with us so we'll have extra hands, but strapping them in the stroller while we wait would still be nice! But we're also not so deadset on doing anything that we'd wait in an hour long line. I think there will be enough to look at that we may not do anything other than the things we have fastpasses for and eat! I'm just trying to go into the whole thing with an open mind!

  35. ShootingStar

    coconut / 8472 posts

    @twodoghouse: You're right, you do have to park them pretty frequently. We brought the stroller into the line for Anna and Elsa at the Sommerhus. I remember trying to feed the baby a bottle in the stroller while the line kept moving,
    lol. And nobody stopped us from bringing it, but maybe we weren't supposed to. We did have to leave it outside it at The Seas, and we left it outside for Frozen Ever After.

    I think I was remembering a lot of walking around the parks and when we were killing time before our Akershus reservation. So DS was waiting for us to get to the next thing, but we weren't literally on line most of the time he was in the stroller. Sorry for the confusion! Disney is such a blur, even just a month after we were there.

  36. twodoghouse

    honeydew / 7230 posts

    @ShootingStar: It's good to know there's some stroller downtime in general, though. My daughter can get overstimulated easily, so I know she'll benefit from just zoning or in the stroller every once in a while!

  37. Anagram

    eggplant / 11716 posts

    @twodoghouse: Come back and update us about your trip!

  38. Anagram

    eggplant / 11716 posts

    I'm getting closer to my Fastpass 60 day window, so I need to firm up some must dos. As a reminder, we'll be with our girls who will then my newly 4 and 2, and my inlaws who are 71 and 68. I can't see MIL riding anything remotely fast----*maybe* something like the Dwarves Mine Train or Thunder mountain, but no scarier than those.

    So, What's my strategy?

    I can make separate posts for MK, AK, Epcot, and HS. We may do HS as a half day on the day we arrive and then have two full days at MK. We'll be there at Rope drop for at least 1 day. We'll probably do rope drop for Epcot, too.

  39. Anagram

    eggplant / 11716 posts

    Animal Kingdom: What are my must dos and FASTpass uses? Avatar just opened, but I think my kids can only do the River ride.

    So, should I be Fastpassing the Safari or the Avatar river ride? Or something else? What should the touring plan be for AK?

  40. Jennibenni

    persimmon / 1005 posts

    @Anagram: HS is for sure a half day park.

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