Magical Memories in the Making ... A Pre-TR! TR LINK UP!

[ariel1025]

Well, the snow has left us but it is still freezing here! It's been nice though, each morning James finds his book and sets it in front me. I proceed to pick up him and the book and cuddle in the covers reading it to him at least 5 times before he decides his toys are more interesting But, considering he hasn't enjoyed cuddling since he learned to roll around - I'll take the 10 minutes each morning

In Christmas news, we put up and decorated our tree night before last. James was hilarious and had a great time playing with the strand of beads that we put on there sometimes. I'm very impressed that so far he has not tried to pull on it, knock it down, tip it over ... He just sits in front of it until I turn the lights on and then squeals and laughs


Cruise Departure Day: The Costs

* Boma Tip (approx 20%) - $10
* Mousekeeping Tip - $5
* Cruise bus driver Tip - $5
* DVC add-on deposit - $500
* Room service tip - $5

Cruise Departure Day Total - $525

Grand Total (all days so far) - $930

*** Scrolling back through I realized I forgot to add two things to our MK day budget

* Mousekeeping tip - $5
* WCC tip (approx 20%) - $15

Revised MK Day Total - $290

Revised Grand Total (all days so far) - $950

 

[LuvEeyore]

The budget matters. It adds up so fast. Guess this needs to be a priority in planning my trip next December.

 

[ariel1025]

The budget matters. It adds up so fast. Guess this needs to be a priority in planning my trip next December.

I'm always shocked at how quickly things add up. Especially since we are DVC and never "pay" for our room, or, in this case, the cruise.

I see from your ticker that you are going on the Fantasy next year That is definitely on our "must do" list! I will definitely be (impatiently) waiting for all the trip reports coming out about it!

 

[ariel1025]

So, I'm slowly working on a few projects for our trip. And by working I mean perusing the amazing Disign boards and downloading everything I like

I like these 2 for T-shirts

This one would only be for James - he absolutely loves watching Chunngington! I'm thinking this is a perfect shirt for travel day

And I'm thinking this one for everyone, possibly for our MK day. I'm still undecided if I want to do the whole matching T-shirt thing or not


I've also picked out these two for tip envelopes for our days at AKL

Even though the cruise provides envelopes for you to tip everyone on the last day they are very plain and impersonal. Therefore, I'm on the hunt for tip envelopes for that portion of our trip as well. So far I haven't found anything I'm in love with though.

The last thing I've found are these two sets of magnet ears for our cruise doors. They will go above the porthole on the door which makes it look like a Mickey head

We will use one set on our door and then give the other set to my parents to use on theirs

I still have plenty more items to work on, but I have a few more months to go so I'm not worried

 

[LuvEeyore]

Good start on the magnets and shirts. I havent gotten that far yet. Though I am thinking about it.

 

[ariel1025]

Good start on the magnets and shirts. I havent gotten that far yet. Though I am thinking about it.

This is the first year that we are doing any personalized items. I talked about it last year and never got around to it

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I love the Disign board! There are so many neat things there. So far the only creative things I have done are trip binder covers and luggage tags. I can't wait to see what all you come up with! The travel day shirt idea for James is so cute!

 

[ariel1025]

I love the Disign board! There are so many neat things there. So far the only creative things I have done are trip binder covers and luggage tags. I can't wait to see what all you come up with! The travel day shirt idea for James is so cute!

Oooh ... luggage tags ... gonna have to go hunt for some of those

 

[ariel1025]

We are very excitedly getting ready for Christmas over here ... all the gifts are purchased, just waiting to be wrapped I do have to say though, I'm a little bit sad to see the holidays be over with. I think after the New Year it is going to feel like the days are dragging until the cruise gets here

Key West Day: The Plans

Our first port of call is Key West. Now, I don't really understand how, but we won't be docking until 12:30. But, I'm actually quite glad because we won't have any reason to be up early for the first time this vacation

So, we will either wake-up on our own or when our wake-up call happens at 9:00 We will then meet my parents in the hall (they are the room next to ours) to go over to Lumiere's for breakfast. I'm super, super excited because on the Wonder the formal dining room is Tritons so this will be new for everyone (unless, of course, it was our dinner rotation the night before). I guess there is also the possibility that we will go to the buffet, but my vote is for the menu restaurant I don't think we will be in any rush to get off the ship, so we will take our time with breakfast.

After we finish eating we will debark the ship and find the check-in station for our first excursion of the cruise. We are doing the Old Town Trolley tour; however, we aren't doing the one offered through Disney The version offered by Disney is a narrated tour around Key West, but you stay on the tour the entire time. We have decided that we are going to book directly through Old Town Trolley. It is still a narrated tour, but it offers hop on/hop off privileges at 12 different stops and it cost $10 less per person The cost wasn't really a deciding factor for us, but the option to hop off was. We are interested in checking out the following throughout the tour:

* Key West Shipwreck Treasures Museum
* Harry S. Truman Little White House
* Mallory Square
* Ripley's Believe or Not
* St Paul's Church
* Margaritaville
* Ernest Hemingway House
* Lighthouse
* Butterfly and Nature Conservatory
* Southernmost Point
* St Mary's Star of the Sea Grotto of our Lady of Lourdes
* Duval Street

Now, we know it will be completely impossible to do all of the above things. In fact, since we have the early show, which begins at 6:15, and we will need time to get ready, we probably only have about 5 hours at Key West. So, a few large decisions will need to be made:

* Which of the above are absolute must do's?
* Do we want to skip out on the show to stay on Key West longer?
* What do we want our plan of attack to be to try and accomplish the most?

In addition to the above items we are wanting to also try to partake in the following:

* Viewing the sunset
* Trying Conch Fritters (Candi only on this one )
* Trying chocolate dipped key lime pie on a stick
* Getting a margarita at Margaritaville

So, as you can see, we have a lot of possibilities this day and that only leads us up to show time

Following our time at Key West we will get back on board and get ready for that night's show. I have no clue what it might be, but I am excited because I think the Magic shows a couple of shows not shown on the Wonder After the show we will have a little bit of down time before dinner since we have the late dinner seating. Candi and I are planning on eating at Palo for sure this night. So, there are a couple possible scenarios following the show for us:

1. Taking James to eat at the buffet and then checking him into Flounder's Reef Nursery - this will happen if my parents also decide on Palo that night OR if they want to have a dinner with just the two of them in the regular rotation restaurant

2. James going to dinner in the regular rotation with my parents

My parents haven't decided if they want to do Palo or not. If they don't, I'm almost positive they will opt to take James to dinner!

Following dinner I'm sure we will all stumble up to our rooms and crashing immediately due to such a long, packed day

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Sounds like a fun day! I have been wanting to check out Key West recently - I've never been! It will be nice to get to sleep a little late that day, too!

 

[oboedm]

Just read through your PTR! We want to take a cruise at some point, with a big group, so I can't wait to read more of your plans!

 

[ariel1025]

Just wanted to say that I'm still here. Just been extremely tied up with Christmas, New Years, family in town and planning a first birthday party ::insert big crocodile tears::

I promise I will be back after next week! Hope everyone had an amazing holiday season!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Can't wait for your next update!

 

[ariel1025]

I really, really meant to get on here and post sooner. But, it just didn't work out On the plus side, the days are flying by, which means my trip is that much closer

I will try my darndest to post a trip update soon. But, I just can't find it in me to avoid posting about my little guy's great big Birthday Bash!

His actual birthday was on a Friday so Candi took the day off work so we could celebrate just the three of us.

We were blessed with my little baby sleeping through the night like a big boy (I realize most children do this way before turning one, but not my little man ). Not only did he sleep through the night, but he also slept in late ... for him ... all the way until 8:15

After we all got up and around we headed off to make a couple last minute party runs (Target anyone?) After which, we headed back to the house to do last minute clean up while James took a nap.

Once he woke from his nap we headed off to his favorite place, EVER (until he goes to WDW of course!) the aquarium.

Enjoying a birthday lunch

They also had the botanical gardens open, so we took him to this awesome kid area over there where he enjoyed his first slide ride ... and loved it!

Late that afternoon, we headed over to the train station to pick up my parents and then called it an early night at home.

Of course, not without giving him his first "cake" and singing a great big happy birthday (where I may, or may not, have cried my little eyes out).

We tried to make it an early night so that he would be well rested for his great big party the next day

Again, James slept like a champ. We were able to get everything (except for food) all set up and get a good night's sleep

Unfortunately, James woke up the next day just not his normal self. He was fussy, clingy and refusing to eat. That only meant one thing ... teething! Apparently the tooth fairy (who was soooo not tinker bell ) decided to bless him with not one, but two, teeth cutting through his gums that morning

But, as they say, the show must go on. So, a little orajel with a dash of tylenol and crossing our fingers that he would feel better.

The guests were expected to arrive at noon, so we I had Candi run to put up the direction signs

And we got the food set out and waited for the fun to begin.

For food we had 4 stations set up. A Pizza Planet with 3 kinds of pizza and a salad bar. A kiddie station with Slinky Dogs (pigs in a blanket), Rex Bites (dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets) and Mr Potato Parts (tater tots and different styles of french fries). A drink station with Cokes, Alien juice (lemon-lime sherbet punch) and Lots'o "Beary" punch (strawberry kool-aid). And, of course, the cake table.

James' smash cake

For entertainment we had Toy Story 3 playing as guests arrived with a concession stand. We also had a coloring station set-up for the kids with these giant sized coloring pages I found. And then after the movie we had Toy Story Mania set up on the Wii.

You can kinda see the concession stand in the background - it had popcorn, toy story gummy bites and kool aid bursts (for the big kids) and tummy ticklers juice boxes (for the toddlers).

We rounded out the day by opening gifts followed by smashing up the cake

I still can't believe my baby boy is ONE YEAR OLD

 

[oboedm]

the party looks like such a great time! I think you did really well planning everything... from the decorations to the activities! =)

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

The party looks like it was a hit! I LOVE the theme! Everything was so well-done!

 

[ariel1025]

the party looks like such a great time! I think you did really well planning everything... from the decorations to the activities! =)

The party looks like it was a hit! I LOVE the theme! Everything was so well-done!

Thanks ladies!! I really wanted it to look "themey" without being too much or over the top, if that makes sense I also wanted everyone of all ages to enjoy themselves, but keep the emphasis on the birthday boy

With the exception of the teething (which I couldn't control, sadly) I was very pleased with how it all turned out. Though, I must admit that (selfishly) my favorite part of his birthday was on the actual big day when it was the three of us at the aquarium

 

[ariel1025]

Boy, oh boy, I am ever behind in doing updates. So, let's jump right in ...

First, things first, we are officially doing the double digit dance

96 DAYS

Now, let's get back to the day by day reports shall we

Day at Sea: The Plans

* Sleep in until we are well rested ... or at least James is
* Head over to either Lumiere's or the buffet for breakfast
* Spa time for me and Candi?
* Whatever the heck we feel like

Boring, I know! But, the truth is we don't have any solid plans for this day. Candi and I are currently debating if we want to indulge in some spa time or not. Although it sounds divine it is rather pricey (in our opinion) but who knows

Some items that are on the agenda of possibilities:

* Pool time
* Movie in the theater
* Room service on the verandah
* Exploring the ship
* Bingo

The rest we will really just play it by ear. Even though I am a planner 100% even I don't like to plan out the sea days. I equate them to a non park day at WDW. It's the perfect day to rest and relax

We will, however, partake in that evenings show and dinner (wherever that may be). And since it is anticipated that this will be semi-formal night on the ship, I want to make sure we all get dolled up and go do some of the professional pictures in the lobby. I am super excited to have a family picture as well as a picture of us with my parents!


Day at Sea: The Costs

Since we don't have any plans set in stone right now I'm not sure what to budget for this day. I guess we will come back to it after we decide on the spa day or not.

In other planning news - we get to make all our reservations (Palo, excursions etc) for the cruise next weekend! I can't wait

The next stop on the cruise is Nassau, so I promise my next update will be much more exciting (and include pictures!).

Have a great weekend everyone!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

A day at sea sounds very relaxing! I think those would be my favorite! I'm excited to see what you end up doing.

 

[Goldeelox9]

LOving your plans. There is nothing better then a Disney Cruise!!