"If We Could Go to Disney I Would Poop My Pants!" A May 2011 PTR UPDATE 4/12

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

Well, my sincerest apologies if you feel the potty humor title is in poor taste. If it makes any difference, I didn't say it, a 5 year old did! Allow me to explain...

A few weeks ago, this trip did not exist. It was impossible, never going to happen. Money is tight, the family is facing many hardships, and apparently the world is ending in 2012 so no time to save up and hope for a future trip! Life has a funny way of throwing a wet blanket on all your hopes and dreams. But I ask you this: How can you wade through all the poo in life and at the end of it all say it was worth it? How can you soften the violent blows of reality and keep your head held high? How does one endure hatred, sadness, loss, and broken hearts and in his last dying breath say, "I wouldn't change a thing"?

I'll tell you how. You even it all out with love, family, happiness, hope, and Walt Disney World.

And really, that's what this trip is going to be about. The road is a little bumpy right now for some members of this party, but some rest and relaxation should help mend spirits and rekindle hope. And this just makes everyone all the more excited!

Within a few days we've managed to put our heads(and wallets!) together to end up with a week long trip to the World, and we're all on cloud 9 with all the planning and anticipating. SO here's the breakdown:

WHEN? May 16th - 23rd, 2011

WHAT? 7 day Magic Your Way Base Tickets with the Quick Service Dining Plan

WHERE? 7 nights at the All Star Movies Resort, paying preferred and requesting the 101 Dalmatians area.

THE CAST:

First there's Me, Caroline.

After graduating high school I took some time off from school to work and explore my interests (and I am SO happy I did this). I started attending the University of Massachusetts as a History major this semester and it's been pretty crazy! (in a good way). I am obsessed with the artwork of the Disney animated films and have too many favorite movies. My favorite Park is Magic Kingdom but Animal Kingdom and Epcot are close seconds. I am all about having fun and feeling good, the only time you'll find me obsessively planning is if its a Disney vacation, and even then I'm pretty easygoing. I'm a no frills kinda gal and I'm not a picky eater so don't expected educated dining reviews!

Then there is Brianna(left) and her DMom Tracy.

Brianna and I have been close friends for years, and I'm very close with the whole family. She's 19, and also took time off from school to work full time and help take care of her little sisters. She will be attending Fitchburg State College in the fall. Her favorite Disney movie is The Lion King and she is most excited about the girls seeing Disney for the first time. She loves animals, they have a little zoo at their house thanks to her, and she's an extremely gifted artist.
Tracy is a 39 year old Mother of 4. I have a lot of respect for this woman. She keeps a smile on her face even in the worst of times and would do anything for her kids. She works hard but always makes time for her family, and has raised her kids to be kind and compassionate people. She has opened up her heart to me as an extended member of the family.

Then we have the cute little princesses joining us!

Morgan is on the right. She turned 8 years old this March. She is quiet and shy but has a heart of gold and never complains. She is sweet and thoughtful, always thinking of others, and will probably grow up to be a very level headed and intellectual woman. Her favorite movie is 101 Dalmatians.
Ava is on the left, and she turned 5 years old this past January. She is CRAZY, spunky and silly! She's can be a little clumsy just because she's always going so fast she doesn't have time to look where she's going! She loves to sing and dance and is very outgoing. Her favorite movie is Sleeping Beauty(ironic, huh?). Neither of these girls have ever been to Disney, and Tracy and Brianna haven't been since 1999.

So there's the cast if you care to come along on our journey! OH, and by the way...the little girls? They have NO IDEA we're going! They have always been told that going to Disney would be simply impossible, so they have NO idea what's coming! And the other day, while we were gathered in the kitchen whispering over our plans, Ava and Morgan were watching tv when a Disney World commercial came on. Morgan says to Ava, "I wish we could go to Disney." To that Ava replies, "Me too. If we could go to Disney I would poop my pants!" We've got a great plan when it comes time to tell them which I'll fill you in on later!

Table of Contents
How This Trip Came to Be
The Plan First Edition
ADRs and Fairy Godmothers!
Some Good News and Some Pretty Crummy News

 

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

For Brianna's family, this vacation has been long awaited and can't come soon enough.

Due to some personal reasons, these past few years have been rough on the family. There is a separation going on in the family, and finances have been a constant struggle(as I'm sure many of us can relate to). Tracy has wanted so badly to bring her girls to Disney but just hasn't been able to make that jump and spend the money.
I've been close to the family for years, being best friends with Brianna, a babysitter for the girls, I'm known by the girls as "Auntie Caroline." So I'm at the house a lot. Brianna and I have seen firsthand Tracy struggle between wanting to give the little girls all the wonderful things they deserve (and they really do deserve it, they're such grateful and sweet kids), and paying the bills. In my trips to Disney over the years, I have tried to include them but Tracy didn't find it doable.
I decided along with Brianna that I wouldn't go to Disney again unless they were going with me! For the past couple of months, Brianna and I talked casually about how much fun it would be, but we didn't hold out much hope.

That is, until Brianna was promoted. She works full time at a horse stable, and was promoted to co-head manager, and her paycheck doubled. When we looked at the finances, Brianna decided that she was bringing the girls to Disney if she had to pay for all of it herself!

(Just figured I would add a more updated picture of Brianna with the girls. She is less like a sister and more like a second mother to them.)

I of course wanted to help! But me? I'm a poor college kid. I work almost every hour I'm not at school as a waitress but almost all of it is going to my tuition. Still...I have a lot of money saved up...

We finally talked Tracy into considering Disney again. We looked at all our finances and showed Tracy a rough estimate of the total cost of a vacation. We had Free Dining PINs and she was shocked at how affordable it was. YES. We had her hooked! With the free dining and base tickets, The price for the four of them was too good of a deal to pass up. Brianna's brother Tyler, who is two years younger, was invited to come along, but he wanted to save his money and opted out. The girls' DDad is being supportive of the trip, and just told us to take lots of pictures for him to see!

We ended up making two reservations: The two of them are paying for themselves and the girls and have one room booked at All Star Movies. Their total came out to roughly $2800.00 for the week.

I booked my own room and requested to be next to them(hopefully they'll honor that!), and with the reservation being basically the same but at the price of one adult, my total came to $1456.25. I'll have roughly $1000 dollars to bring to the parks to help pay for OOP meals for all of us, and I'm chipping in for some other fun things we have planned for them.

So yeah, this trip really is going on a shoestring budget. You know you love Disney when you're a dirt broke college kid giving up $2500.00 from your tuition savings to go on a trip! But really, we are so thrilled that the girls are finally going to see the mecca of childhood. They flip out when they see Disney on Ice, so I can't even imagine how they'll feel when they see the actual one and only Walt Disney World!

UP NEXT: The Plan First Edition

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I’m in! This is so exciting! How wonderful that you and your friend were able to pull this together! I can’t wait to see what happens next Oh, and I LOVE the title! Granted, there is a lot of potty humor in my household!

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Well you had me with your title. Being the mother of 4 kids I have heard sayings like that often. Never heard that one until now though....I LOVE IT!!!!!

How exciting......the girl's first trip. Can't wait to read more. We went in May of 09 and it was such an awesome time to go. Weather was hot but not unbearable and crowds weren't bad at all.

 

[Moira222]

I'm In!!! I had to click over when I saw your title ...and you will be at the parks the same time as us. HOW EXCITING!!!

I just love how you are all family of one sort or another and am so looking forward to hearing how your plans go. You are going to have a blast!!!

 

[Corrine 1973]

Of course your title hooked me, but the sweet story of you and your friend getting plans together to get those precious girls to disney won me over. You are a very special person to help them go.

Can't wait to read more and see how you plan to tell them of the trip. I was going to keep our trip a secret from my son, but I couldn't pull it off. I was just to excited.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Like others, I was drawn in by your title but have loved reading about all you guys You all sound so sweet and great together - I hope you have a truly wonderful time at Disney World!

I can relate to parts of the story so am looking forward to reading more

 

[TinksThree]

Hey, you started a PTR!! I love the title and how exciting to be surprising those little girls (they are too cute BTW!). All of our trips tend to be on a shoe-string budget so I can fit in more trips. This year's Disney trip is a bit of a splurge for us since my mom is going!! I can't wait to hear more!!!

 

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

I’m in! This is so exciting! How wonderful that you and your friend were able to pull this together! I can’t wait to see what happens next Oh, and I LOVE the title! Granted, there is a lot of potty humor in my household!

Thanks for joining in, Erin! Haha, there is plenty of potty humor on this end as well, in case you hadn't guessed.

Well you had me with your title. Being the mother of 4 kids I have heard sayings like that often. Never heard that one until now though....I LOVE IT!!!!!

How exciting......the girl's first trip. Can't wait to read more. We went in May of 09 and it was such an awesome time to go. Weather was hot but not unbearable and crowds weren't bad at all.

Glad you enjoyed the title! It seemed perfect and it pretty much describes how we're all feeling...just in 5 year old terms!

LOVE to hear that about the crowds. I've done Disney in August so I think I can handle hot. But since this might be the girls' once in a lifetime trip I want them to be able to see and do as much as possible. So low crowds sound PERFECT.

I'm In!!! I had to click over when I saw your title ...and you will be at the parks the same time as us. HOW EXCITING!!!

I just love how you are all family of one sort or another and am so looking forward to hearing how your plans go. You are going to have a blast!!!

Hey, thanks for joining in! Maybe we'll see you around! If you see 3 ladies getting yanked around the World by two hyper excited little girls you've probably found us!

Of course your title hooked me, but the sweet story of you and your friend getting plans together to get those precious girls to disney won me over. You are a very special person to help them go.

Can't wait to read more and see how you plan to tell them of the trip. I was going to keep our trip a secret from my son, but I couldn't pull it off. I was just to excited.

Thank you so much for the kind words. It was really important for us to do this for them, every child deserves to go to Disney at least once.

We are SO excited to tell them. Without revealing too much, I will tell you that we're letting them know a liiiitttle bit before the trip. I'll probably fill you guys in with all those details this coming weekend!

Like others, I was drawn in by your title but have loved reading about all you guys You all sound so sweet and great together - I hope you have a truly wonderful time at Disney World!

I can relate to parts of the story so am looking forward to reading more

There's a lot of love in this group, no doubt! Thanks for coming along on the journey! I'm sure a lot of us can relate to this, unfortunately.

Hey, you started a PTR!! I love the title and how exciting to be surprising those little girls (they are too cute BTW!). All of our trips tend to be on a shoe-string budget so I can fit in more trips. This year's Disney trip is a bit of a splurge for us since my mom is going!! I can't wait to hear more!!!

Hey, that I did! Now we can keep each other updated as our trips progress!

This is going to be the surprise of their LIVES. We can hardly wait to tell them!


Stay tuned, folks, think I'm going to squeeze in an update tonight...

 

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

So I'm going to get an update in tonight as I'm not sure I'll be able to again until this coming weekend. I have 3 essays due here in good ol' college and 2 exams. I also have to meet with my academic counselor and plan for next semester! Crazy week! I had to miss a concert with some friends tonight because of all the work, but at least that means I have a little spare time to keep you guys updated!

I was going to jump right in and tell you guys about how we're going to surprise the girls...but there's something I want to take a picture of and show you guys...something I left back at my father's house. So that will have to wait until I head home this weekend!


Tonight I'll fill you in on the *very* tentative plan. I, being the master of all things Disney, was recruited to make up a schedule that I thought would work best and we would revise it from there. So I spent a solid 8 hours combing through TouringPlans(only the free stuff ), EasyWDW, disboards, and any other information I could find either online, in books or in my own brain. NOTE: I don't usually pay attention to crowd calendars, they just stress me out. BUT since this is a VERY special vacation I decided to dip into foreign territory to get the best plan possible. Anyway, I put together what I thought was the most effective plan for the week, and for each day there was a one page write up explaining why I chose that specific park and why I didn't choose the others, specifics of what that day would be like, etc.

So next I'm going to show you what my initial plan looked like. Keep in mind that we DO NOT have hoppers. I'm starting to think I prefer this. My biggest mistake my last vacation was running myself into the ground trying to do everything and hopping every day....it was August...still fairly crowded...still VERY hot and humid...by the 4th day of our 7 day trip we were pooped but I forced us to keep going because...well, there were 3 days left! I want everyone to remember this as being the best vacation ever, so when I made this plan I made SURE there was a good amount of downtime to prevent total exhaustion. SO here was my initial plan:

Monday, May 16th: Flight leaves from Boston's Logan Airport at 10:24am, arrives at MCO at 2:48pm. Probably arrive at ASMo around 5pm. Check in, relax for awhile, hop on DTD bus at 7:30ish. ADR at T-Rex in DTD for 8:30, but definitely not necessary if we're tired, could just hang at the hotel all evening.
Tuesday, May 17th: 9am MK RD. Spend the day there, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique appointment at 6:10, jump on monorail and head to 7:45 ADR at 1900 PF. Head back to ASMo for the night.
Wednesday, May 18th: Hollywood Studios 8am - 9am EMH. Hang out there til whenever then a relaxing evening doing whatever (park closes at 6)
Thursday, May 19th: 9am Epcot RD. In it for the long haul, possible midday break back at ASMo. Illuminations at 9pm then mosey back to the buses and head back for the night!
Friday, May 20th: No real plans, sleep in. Will probably be a DTD Day, maybe Fantasmic! in the evening(this is a MUST do for everyone).
Saturday, May 21st: Animal Kingdom 8-9am EMH. Play til we drop!
Sunday, May 22nd: Sleep in, head to MK late afternoon, have dinner, snag a spot for MSEP and Wishes! Whoever is down for EMH til 2am go for it!
Monday, May 23rd: No plans set, leaving hotel around 10:30 for 2pm flight.


So there it was. I thought it was foolproof! I had Tracy look at it and expected her to laugh in my face. I had gone a little overboard with the packet I had set up for her! But to my surprise she was very receptive! She wanted to take it and read it over thoroughly while she was at work, and listened to everything I had to say and didn't bat an eye. She seemed very appreciative that I had put in so much effort. That being said, I went into this knowing that she might want some things changed...

Her first concern was that she wanted to do a park the night we got there. I disagreed. I informed her that the only 2 parks that were open late enough(Epcot, MK) tended to be very busy on Mondays, especially with us not arriving until the evening. It would only make sense for us to leave at closing with everyone else, which is a madhouse. When I told her that leaving MK at 10pm and not getting home til 11:30 on our first night was the case, she saw my point of view. It would just be too much at the beginning of the week, I didn't want us to get worn out. That was my biggest concern, actually! So for now we're playing it by ear, we may just hang at the resort or we may go to DTD...

We had a lot of trouble deciding on how to do Fantasmic! We both agreed that we were going to stay as far away from SWW as possible(I wouldn't mind doing the updated Star Tours, but this trip is about the girls and they've never even seen Star Wars). The only way to do Fantasmic! without the hoppers in my plan would be to go to the Friday night showing - opening night of SWW. While I guess it would have been doable, Tracy was not enthusiastic at all about facing those crowds. So that left our first full day changing from MK to HS. I warned her that crowds would be a lot heavier since it's a F! day, but we agreed that we will definitely make it to rope drop and make the best of the situation. She REALLY wants the girls to see F!

THEN we had trouble deciding which day to do BBB...I had originally booked it for that Tuesday at the castle, which was now HS day...so no go. We thought about doing it the next day, but there was nothing available. Right now that's still up in the air...

THEN we started going back and forth on whether to do AK on Friday or Saturday. I had put in the packet that AK WASN'T a recommended park on the day I had planned it(because of EMH). But I think that if you actually MAKE it to EMH that it's worth it. Right now we're sticking with AK on Saturday with morning EMH but if anyone thinks we'd be better off going the day before with NO EMH let me know...

SO we talked for awhile and moved some things around. Things are still up in the air and we're currently sort of ADR-less (THE HORROR!! ). But here's what the schedule looks like now:

Monday 16th: Arrive at ASMo around 5, hang out, Maybe DTD and TRex res 8:30
Tuesday 17th: HS 9am RD, Fantasmic! at 7pm
Wednesday 18th: MK 9am RD, no more 1900 PF this day. I'm hoping we'll leave a little before closing tonight since we'll see the nighttime shows on Sunday and don't want to be out too late at the beginning of the trip! I'm also looking forward to MK this day because the crowds are supposed to be SUPER low this day, 2/10. Hopefully that's true!
Thursday 19th: Epcot all day, same.
Friday 20th: No plans at all, might do T-Rex this day instead. Who knows.
Saturday 21st: AK 8am EMH same as before.
Sunday 22nd: Tentatively going to try for DTD BBB around noonish then head to MK in the afternoon to see the nighttime goodies.
Monday 23rd: Same as before.

Does this plan look okay too? I'm a little nervous about HS on a F! day but hopefully since SWW is later that week it'll thin out the crowds a little for this day?? And RD should help us... I was also looking forward to that relaxing afternoon on Wednesday after HS...hoping we can do that with MK but the girls might be too excited to leave early!

Anyway, we're meeting at the end of this week and hopefully our plans will be solidified! I'm actually hoping to communicate over the phone and get some ADRs nailed down once and for all! We only have money for 2 or 3 TS, but we gotta snag 'em early either way!

COMING SOON: ADRs, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, and how we'll surprise the girls!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Good luck with your studies! Sounds like you are having a stressful week - hope it eases up soon.

Both set of your plans sound good Am glad you managed to convince Tracy not to go to a park on your first day - I agree that would be too much

In my opinion making AK during EMH will be worth it and you will be able to get through a lot I have the same worry of hitting DHS on a Fantasmic day so am looking forward to the opinion of others.

I was worried about not having Park Hoppers but after hearing your story am glad we have stuck to one park a day

 

[TinkerbellinNY6]

Myself, Mom and Cousin are going to be there the same time as you! I just graduated high school in June adn started college this past fall.

 

[Corrine 1973]

Your plans look good to me, but them I am no expert. We are also going to DHS on a F! day. Basically because we don't have park hoppers either and have never seen F! I am a little worried about the crowds but am hoping for the best. Not wanting to wait in two hour lines to see it though I made reservations for the F! dinner package. I wasn't able to get them at first but kept checking on them and was able to sneak in there for a lunch!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I think both of your sets of plans look great too! I also agree that it's good you were able to convince Tracy not to do a park on your arrival night. That can be really tiring and is usually a waste of a ticket IMO, doing EMH at AK is worth it because you can get so much done. I also like your idea of taking the girls to BBB on one of your last days because their hair will still be cemented in their up-dos and they'll be able to keep the Disney magic with them for a couple of days

 

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

Good luck with your studies! Sounds like you are having a stressful week - hope it eases up soon.

Both set of your plans sound good Am glad you managed to convince Tracy not to go to a park on your first day - I agree that would be too much

In my opinion making AK during EMH will be worth it and you will be able to get through a lot I have the same worry of hitting DHS on a Fantasmic day so am looking forward to the opinion of others.

I was worried about not having Park Hoppers but after hearing your story am glad we have stuck to one park a day

Thanks for the well wishes, I'm down to just 2 more exams and then I'm all caught up!

Yep, I think AK EMH will be good to get all the big stuff done at the beginning of the day! And I'll let you know how we do on Fantasmic! day.

Myself, Mom and Cousin are going to be there the same time as you! I just graduated high school in June adn started college this past fall.

Woot! Maybe we'll see you around the parks! Thanks for joining in! Don't party too hard in college now.

Your plans look good to me, but them I am no expert. We are also going to DHS on a F! day. Basically because we don't have park hoppers either and have never seen F! I am a little worried about the crowds but am hoping for the best. Not wanting to wait in two hour lines to see it though I made reservations for the F! dinner package. I wasn't able to get them at first but kept checking on them and was able to sneak in there for a lunch!

That's our same reasoning for doing HS on a F! day. We looked into a F! package but we just couldn't justify the cost. If we had more money we would have probably taken this route, but we don't mind waiting. We'll probably just grab some CS and get comfy on the sidewalk!

I think both of your sets of plans look great too! I also agree that it's good you were able to convince Tracy not to do a park on your arrival night. That can be really tiring and is usually a waste of a ticket IMO, doing EMH at AK is worth it because you can get so much done. I also like your idea of taking the girls to BBB on one of your last days because their hair will still be cemented in their up-dos and they'll be able to keep the Disney magic with them for a couple of days

Yeah, we wouldn't get to the park around 6 at the earliest, and that's if we jump RIGHT from arriving at the hotel to jumping on a bus. Seems way stressful to me for only a few hours of crowded park time.

Oh yes, Tracy is SO looking forward to cement hair! We'll be lucky if we can get Ava to tolerate that hair style for more than a few hours.

 

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

No time for a real update, I have mountains of homework and studying, but just thought I would share some "real life" with you guys.

Brianna had the day off yesterday so she stayed at home to watch Ava(who doesn't start school until the fall). Well Brianna apparently started watching a show called The Living Dead...and Ava LOVED it! They watched a whole marathon all day and Ava never got scared.

For those who aren't familiar with the show, it's essentially a television series based off of any Zombie movie you've seen, but the storyline is very good and it's not cheesy at all, very scary and entertaining(if you're into monster stuff).

I KNOW I KNOW, why would she let a 5 year old watch a Zombie show?! Well it hasn't phased tough ol' Ava yet and she keeps wanting to see more! Guess we don't have to worry about her getting scared in The Haunted Mansion!

Anyway, after they watched it for awhile Ava was all hyped up about zombies...so she and Brianna did a little project....and they sent me these photos as evidence! (DON'T LOOK DOWN IF YOU GET SPOOKED EASILY! )
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BRAAAAAINS...

Morbid children.

Next update will probably be Saturday so stay tuned!

 

[Corrine 1973]

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BRAAAAAINS...

Morbid children.

Next update will probably be Saturday so stay tuned!

Brianna's eyes are super spooky. Loved the pics.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Those pics are scary but great at the same time!

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

I agree that those pics are super creepy, but really cool at the same time. I actually subjected my sisters and youngest brother to horror movies at a young age. I'm 12-15 years older than them, so I should've known better, but it actually did somewhat help my sisters not to be scared of movies. Then I let my youngest brother see Anaconda and he flipped out! I don't think he watched another horror movie until he was about 16 or 17! I was a bad sister! LOL Maybe girls are a little tougher at young ages. Looks like Ava won't have a problem in Haunted Mansion at all!

 

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

Brianna's eyes are super spooky. Loved the pics.

Glad you enjoyed!

Those pics are scary but great at the same time!

Hey, as long as you're encouraging kids to be creative, right?! This is DEFINITELY creative...

I agree that those pics are super creepy, but really cool at the same time. I actually subjected my sisters and youngest brother to horror movies at a young age. I'm 12-15 years older than them, so I should've known better, but it actually did somewhat help my sisters not to be scared of movies. Then I let my youngest brother see Anaconda and he flipped out! I don't think he watched another horror movie until he was about 16 or 17! I was a bad sister! LOL Maybe girls are a little tougher at young ages. Looks like Ava won't have a problem in Haunted Mansion at all!

Aaaah when I was little my sister tied me to a chair and forced me to watch all the Evil Chuckie Doll movies! He bares a shocking resemblance to the Chuckie from the Rugrats so I never watched that show after that. But now pretty much nothing scares me! Character building is all it was!