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

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Tinkerbell Gifts!

My last item came in the mail yesterday! Woo Hoo! I wanted to wait to post but I am afraid that the next two weeks are going to fly by. So, here is my "schedule" for the gifts. Last year I made a little summary to leave with what the general plan is for the day, maybe I will do something simpler. But I don't know. They were only half into reading them.

Monday: Travel Day
Tinkerbell Gift: Tsum Tsum PJ's
Disney themed PJ's have become the tradition for 1 Tink Gifts. They end up wearing them the whole trip and then some when they get home. It is kind of tricky, I usually have to send the girls out of the room and quickly throw them on the bed for when we come back in the room.


Tuesday: Magic Kingdom AM / Hollywood Studios PM
Tinkerbell Gift: Parkbound Button & some Pins to trade
I figure I need to give them the button for autographs on the first day. It is a little smaller than I thought it would be. hmm.. Maybe I should buy one more so they easy have there own to put in there rooms.. Need to stop the madness!!!! And then some pins to trade at some point.



Wednesday: EPCOT AM / Magic Kingdom PM (EMH)
Tinkerbell Gift: Rapunzel Shirts & Glow Sticks
This is the day I will probably want to get the annual photo of the girls in front of the Rapunzel Bathrooms. So, I might leave a little note saying something like that. And the Glow Sticks are just run of the mill dollar store glow sticks for at night. Nothing fancy but it will get the job down, I am sure.

Thursday: Animal Kingdom All Day
Tinkerbell Gift: Snack Shirts & Snack Buttons
I think I am most excited for this day. Just love the snack shirts. No snack shirt for DH. I couldn't find a good one for him.


Friday: Chill at the Hotel / Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party
Tinkerbell Gift: Inside Out Costumes
I am debating about telling them about the party until we get there. Kind of like another surprise. And I think I might need to, otherwise they will want to pack costumes... I also want to get at least one bigger treat bag to consolidate candy into. I will grab one at Target once they put out the Halloween Costumes, which I am sure will be next week.



Saturday: Chill at the Hotel / Animal Kingdom
Tinkerbell Gift: Minnie Hair Bow Ties & Water Frisbee
@ArielSRL - Shared a post on facebook on our drive home for Myrtle Beach. And I promptly checked it them out on Etsy. And totally got suckered into them! I even ordered one for my girlfriend who we might go to Disney with in December 2018.


Sunday: Magic Kingdom / Airport Late Afternoon
Tinkerbell Gift: Necklaces
This was ironically the first thing I ordered from Etsy. I figure the last day is the best for keeping the necklaces from breaking.


So, that are all of the goodies! Glad that I have that done!

 

[kastoney]

I ordered Pins off of Amazon. I know @ArielSRL & I were talking with @MissMaryQC about who to order from. I am happy to say that they are all Disney Pins. Some are more beat up than others but they are all official. Most I don't think we don't actually want but the plan was to trade them all. So, that is good.

You'll have to let me know how this goes, especially with Gwen. Casey has been wanting to do pin trading for a while now but I wasn't sure she'd be willing to actually trade anything away

Happy Friday!!!!

I am so excited that it is September!!! Vacation Month!

Happy Friday or at least Saturday now for you! So excited for you all!

So, I finally got DH to think about this whole reveal thing and we decided to wait till the 11th to start the clues. He was afraid that it was too long of a process for the girls. Which I kind of agree. So, there is the new plan. We are going to give them clues on Monday, Wednesday & Friday. We decided where we are going to hide the final boxes, I just need to figure out the clues themselves. And just because I can't wait to share. Here are the reveal boxes!!!!

These are great. Feel free to send one over to Virginia when you are done

Don't mind the sock on the bed. I am constantly trying to find matches to sock and seem to have them everywhere!

Ignoring the sock, but totally love your bedspread!

I think she is going to love the tutu. I got biker shorts to go under to help with the stratchy-ness. And if they decide to take the tutu's off, they can.

This is AWESOME!!!!!!! Gwen is gonna love it. I just showed it to Casey and she says she wants it to I'd say you hit a home run!

The headbands were $10 a piece and the seller gave me a 20% coupon as they weren't perfect. But they look fine to me.

These are all really great. You guys are going to look awesome!

Tinkerbell Gift: Parkbound Button & some Pins to trade
I figure I need to give them the button for autographs on the first day. It is a little smaller than I thought it would be. hmm.. Maybe I should buy one more so they easy have there own to put in there rooms.. Need to stop the madness!!!! And then some pins to trade at some point.

This is a great idea. May have to steal this one too!

Tinkerbell Gift: Snack Shirts & Snack Buttons
I think I am most excited for this day. Just love the snack shirts. No snack shirt for DH. I couldn't find a good one for him.

Ok, you guys are just beyond cuteness. I know I said to send a box my way, but just feel free to send everything for your and Gwen our way as soon as your trip is over

 

[MissMaryQC]

These are amazing! I love all your wonderful boxes!

The girls will be so pumped for the great gifts from Tink. I really adore the Inside Out costumes so much.

Oh, and happy vacation month!!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

You'll have to let me know how this goes, especially with Gwen. Casey has been wanting to do pin trading for a while now but I wasn't sure she'd be willing to actually trade anything away

I will def let you know! That has been the problem. They will pick out a pin in the store but they don't want to trade them. I am sure most of these they won't want to keep, so that will motivate them to trade more.

Ignoring the sock, but totally love your bedspread!

Thanks!

This is AWESOME!!!!!!! Gwen is gonna love it. I just showed it to Casey and she says she wants it to I'd say you hit a home run!

I love it. We can gage the goodness of the gifts just by having each others gifts give a review!

This is a great idea. May have to steal this one too!

It is nice and small, so it won't be too much to lug around the park. And it has a little kickstand on it, so you can display it once you are home.

I really adore the Inside Out costumes so much.

Thanks! I made NONE of it like you! Can't wait to see you guys all decked out in your costumes...

Oh, and happy vacation month!!

Thanks! And you too! Happy Vacation Month! And Happy Birthday to your little munchkin!

 

[MissMaryQC]

Happy Birthday to your little munchkin!

Thank you!!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

40 Attractions for turning 40!

So, I finished my sheets for the 40 for 40 Quest! So, the plan will be to just record what we do each day and just see where we get. I don't think I am going to worry about mapping out what we need. I do see Morgan, wanting to map it all out. (She is my kid after all...)

First I made a simple sheet for us to fill out each day. I will probably print out a couple of these, for you know... mistakes...


And then I made sheets with what "qualifies" as an attraction. I plan to print them out and laminate them. So, when I was making the check lists below, Disney really takes the term Attractions VERY loosely. They have ALOT of things listed that are not "attractions". (they have each type of animal listed as it's each individual attraction in Animal Kingdom) I did keep parades and fireworks on the list. I figure if we make a point to see the show, get there early and wait, it can count. Just seeing it in the distance as we are walking out of the park, would not.

Magic Kingdom Sheet:


Animal Kingdom Sheet:


EPCOT / Hollywood Studios Sheet:


I hope the girls get into this idea. We will see!

 

[MissMaryQC]

I do see Morgan, wanting to map it all out. (She is my kid after all...)

This is awesome! A map of them would be super cute for a memory box/scrapbook.

I figure if we make a point to see the show, get there early and wait, it can count

I agree. If you prep for it: wait, FP, etc, it's an attraction.

These are so cute! I really wanna do this for my 40th! I've got a few years, but I made DH promise I could celebrate my 40th (and DD's 10th) b-day with a 14 day Disney Trip, lol!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

7 Days!

I should be more excited about this, but I feel like we are holding our breathe a little. Sounds like Orlando fared fairly well with Irma and is just cleaning up debre and whatnot and will be open tomorrow. So, now it's just a matter of this other hurricane lurking out in the ocean. Jose is still lingering out there. It sounds like it is not going to be a factor but I feel like I can't let myself get TOO excited. Makes the disappointment less. (I guess)

Because there is still a slight chance of having to cancel, we are waiting even a bit more to start the clues for the girls. If we need to cancel, I would MUCH rather they have never known. It will make things a whole lot easier for us if we do. And really we can wait to tell them later. We have time...

But on that note, BOTH my sister and my girlfriend BOTH almost spilled the beans to the girls! We babysat my sister's little boy the past weekend and her and her husband were getting ready to leave and we are chit chatting and she said something to the effect, "Well, when you guys go to Disney next week..." I started talking over her as loud as I could without trying to be so loud it was noticeable. Thankfully, the girls were too busy playing with the baby. And then this weekend we went up to my girlfriends (by @ariane37) to celebrate her son's B-day early since we would be in Disney for the party. And they all asked why we couldn't come to the actual party. And my girlfriend almost slipped AGAIN! Ugh! Thank Goodness we only have one more week!

Anyway, I am going to TRY and write a post each night with what our plans are next week. I am not promising anything!

One week from today!
The girls will go to school and I will go to work as usual. We usually get home around 4:00. Everybody can change into some comfy travel clothes and head out! My sister used to drive us to the airport and pick us up but now that she has her own little bubba, we will have to drive ourselves and park in long term parking. Boo. It was nice while it lasted.

Our flight is 7:55 PM and we are only maybe 30 minutes from the airport. I would rather get there early and grab dinner in the airport than push it.

 

[ariane37]

And then this weekend we went up to my girlfriends (by @ariane37) to

I knew you were coming soon and I knew it was a day I wouldn't be around (again), and I meant to tell you that but I forgot. I was in the city touring a cruise ship but one of these days it'll work, darn it!
I'm crossing my fingers for you. I have one DISfriend who moved her trip from last weekend to this Fri. and another who leaves tomorrow but had her flight down cancelled so is now driving..............

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

6 Days!

So, Hurricane Jose update... sounds like they are staying with the idea that Jose will stay off in the ocean.

So, all "seems" ok for now. Keeping an eye on it but slowly becoming more excited for the trip!

One week from today! (aka Tuesday, September 19th)
Today is our first full day in the parks. I will probably let us sleep in (which is almost NEVER more than 8:00 am in our family and that is rare, especially when we are in Disney) And get up and head to the Magic Kingdom!

Magic Kingdom is scheduled to open at 9:00 AM. We don't need to see the opening show but it would be nice to get there and grab breakfast before rope drop. If we have time, I would love to grab these for the girls for breakfast:


We don't have any fastpasses for the morning, so we can play it by ear as to what rides we want to do. We will spend the morning soaking up the magic! We can either grab a lite lunch in the park before heading back to the resort or a snack back at the resort. But we will def want to save room for our early dinner!

We will head back to the room hopefully around noon. Rest/Swim at the resort. And then get ready for the second half of our day!

We have an early reservation @ Ohana at 3:35.

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hello Everyone!

I knew that I was going to fail at the nightly posts! It has been a CRAZY week and everything I have been so tired, I can't even concentrate enough to read everyone's trip reports! #ptrfail

So, we started the reveal clues. And so far they are working great! The girls are totally convinced my sister hid the gift. Tomorrow when I get home from getting my hair prettied we will give them the last clue! I can not wait!!!!!

Hurricane Jose may ironically cause problems here in Jersey while we are in Florida but it shouldn't be that bad. So, we are def a go! Woo Hoo!!!!! I seriously can't wait. This weekend might be the longest weekend ever! We don't have much to do which is good. We can pack (cause I have packed zero things so far) and rest up. Morgan was sick right before school started and is still harboring a soar throat and is flemy. So, I am hoping she can finally kick that this weekend.

Question:
My biggest question is our first day.... We have Magic Kingdom in the AM, then rest time, then head to Ohana for dinner @ 3:35 then head to Hollywood Studios for the evening. I am really worried about how long Ohana will take. I don't want to rush out of there and I have heard that it can take awhile, but we are the first seating. Do you guys think that will make it longer because they are just getting going or do you think we can keep a good pace for dinner?

I am also thinking we could Uber over to HS to save some time. And then I booked the Fantastic VIP Expierence which I REALLY want to keep but the email they send for confirmation, says we should arrive an hour early! Which will really cut into our time at the park. But then again, we should get there somewhat early to get a decent seat if I cancel it?!?! There haven't been any reviews yet on it. I assume because of Irma and I think it just started this week. Sigh...

But that being said, that is my biggest concern right now. Things could be worse! Right?

I will leave you with our "cheat sheets" DH finished them this week!


Tuesday:


Wednesday:


Thursday:


Friday:


Saturday:


Sunday:


Sadly, I think this is the best I am going to get for summarizing our days. Sorry...

 

[kastoney]

Hi there! So excited for you all that the trip is so close and glad to hear the girls are enjoying their clues. Even I'm excited to see how the big reveal goes

I'm not help in the Ohana question, but love your cheat sheets!

 

[ariane37]

I have to say first that I love DH's cheat sheets! I remember them from your last trip and I thought they were fantastic. I think the best part is that he takes the time to make them

Minnie Hair Bow Ties & Water Frisbee

Those hair bow ties are adorable, I've never seen them before but of course I wouldn't really have reason to look for them lol

Do you guys think that will make it longer because they are just getting going or do you think we can keep a good pace for dinner?

I think with that early of an ADR you should be seated on time and I don't think it'll take any longer since they're just getting going. Of course that's just my opinion, but I haven't heard complaints from people with early reservations saying they're waiting for the service to begin.

If I don't get back here before you go, I hope you all have a magical time I'll be looking for tons of pictures on FB!!!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Well, this is it! We are pretty much all packed. The girls have school tomorrow and I have work. And then we are on vacation!

 

[Raeven]

Well, this is it! We are pretty much all packed. The girls have school tomorrow and I have work. And then we are on vacation!

Have a great trip!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hi! I totally thought I was done with the posts before the trip. But I woke up to this email:


I don't have time to call today, I am running around trying to get everything I need done at work. I know it's because of the MNSSHP tickets. It's the same issue @MissMaryQC had with her fastpasses. I am wondering if I can just talk to someone at the Wilderness Lodge. I would have DH call but he isn't very god at those kind of things... Grr...

 

[MissMaryQC]

Well you're in Disney World! Sorry I didn't see the stupid FP email sooner. Talk to your resort concierge, they should be able to help you. Ask for Doug, if you can; he apparently trained Audra, who is the woman who helped me with our FP issues. He's a wonderful guy.

Hope you guys have a magical trip! Can't wait to see your updates!

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hi Everyone!!!!! We are back from our trip! It was fantastic... hot... but we had a great time. I am trying to figure out how to post photos using Flicker. Once I get that squared away, I will start my Trip Report!

So, this is a test to see if this will show the photo or not.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/XQMAy5]Disney 2017 by Ariella Saucier, on Flickr[/URL]

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

 

[StarWarsMomofGirls!]

Hello Everyone!!!!!

I started my trip report. You can find it here!

Mojitos, Night Shows & 40 Attractions! A September 2017 Trip

Morgan is sick and I have to take her to the doctors this morning, but I am hoping to get at least one more post up this weekend! Hope to see you all over there!