You're Livin' the Dream, Mater Boy! *Aug 2010*(WE'RE HOME and HAD A GREAT TRIP!!!!)

[Cory's Gal]

Okay, well here are the pages. I only have 8 done, which is really bad considering how much time I've spent working on these. But this is what I have so far - some of them I really like and others not so much.
A picture would eventaully go on the top part, and the character would sign on the bottom.

THEY LOOK AWESOME KAREN!!!!! I LOVE the covers and really like how there is space for a picture and a spot for the autograph! What a special keepsake for the boys!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

THEY LOOK AWESOME KAREN!!!!! I LOVE the covers and really like how there is space for a picture and a spot for the autograph! What a special keepsake for the boys!

Thanks Beth! I think they will work out nicely, I just have SO many more pages to get done! At least I still have 6 months to do them! I plan to make pages for most of the main characters I think we'll see, then leave a bunch of blank pages a the end for any others. I haven't showed the kids yet, I've been working on them after bedtimes, so maybe I'll try to keep them a surprise until we get there.

Are you going to make autograph books for your kids?

 

[Charlefours]

They are great!! I think they are turning out wonderfully well. There is plenty of room for the characters to sign and having a space for a picture will make a great memory book too!

I am toying around with how I want to do DD's still. I need to get cracking on it though!!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

They are great!! I think they are turning out wonderfully well. There is plenty of room for the characters to sign and having a space for a picture will make a great memory book too!

I am toying around with how I want to do DD's still. I need to get cracking on it though!!

Thanks! I am pretty happy with them - I just need to figure out which other characters to make specific pages for and try to get some done - I know I have lots of time yet.

Figuring out what to do and how to make them was the hardest part for me! I actually started them 3 different times and ended up not liking them and tearing them apart and starting over! I hope to be able to work on them sometime this week and I'll post a few more pictures!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

I'm so excited - I ordered the Baggallini Messenger bag for our trip!

I've been reading through the threads on what bag to carry, and I really liked the Baggallini, and I found one on Amazon for a pretty good price, and I had some Amazon gift cards built up so I paid a total of $0.80 for the bag!

I got it in tan, nice and neutral. I'm hoping that DH can also wear/carry the bag some of the time too. I don't plan to carry a real lot (wishful thinging I'm sure), here is what I'm thinking so far: autograph books & pens, small digital camera (does video w/sound), extra batteries, small pack of wipes, sunscreen, McQueen's inhaler, couple small snacks, and a bottle of water. I'm sure there will be more to add!!! I have a DSLR camera that I'll be bringing but I'm sure I'll have it out like all of the time, so I don't really plan to even put it in the bag!

I'm very anxious to get the bag and see what I can fit into it! I hope it's comfy too!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

I got my new Baggallini in the mail yesterday - I was so excited to try it out! I really like the material, and it is so lightweight. I decided to test it out a little and pack it with most of the things I think we'll be taking to Disney.

My packing list is:
2 autograph books, 2 pens
small camera (shoots video with sound)
umbrella
water bottle
2 kids sunglasses
2 adult sunglasses
inhaler
small pack of wipes
Shout wipes
extra camera battery
hand santizer
sunscreen
sunscreen for Mater (needs special due to allergies)
ziplock bags
DSLR camera and extra lens

So I packed what I could and got everything except my DSLR camera and lens. I was hoping I'd be able to at least get the lens in (I planned to just carry/wear the camera) but I wasn't able to get it in. I really wanted to buy a new lens before our trip anyway, so I don't have to change lenses in the park, so now that I know I can't bring an extra lens, I think I'll need to start saving to buy one nice lens to take along.

In the big pouch I put the umbrealla across the bottom and then the autograph books at the top - I know we'll be getting them out a lot and they fit in that compartment perfectly, so I am really happy with that.

All of the miscellaneous stuff went in the front compartment - wipes, baggies, bottles, batteries. I don't really want any of the stuff (especially stuff that could leak) in by the autograph books. I suppose I should bring a couple of big ziploc bags - one for the books to go in and one for the cameras for if we do water rides.

Overall I am really happy with the bag and think it will work really nicely. I know we'll end up carrying a few more things (I don't have ponchos yet).

What else am I missing? What else do I need to bring?

 

[martinolichfamily]

Just found your PTR....great report!
We are also staying at POP (1st time there) ...looks fun for the kids!

I absolutely LOVE your autograph books....Great job!

We ate breakfast at Chef Mickey's our last trip...the kids loved it as did we...great character interaction and food was good w/decent variety to choose from IMO.

Look forward to reading more.

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Just found your PTR....great report!
We are also staying at POP (1st time there) ...looks fun for the kids!

I absolutely LOVE your autograph books....Great job!

We ate breakfast at Chef Mickey's our last trip...the kids loved it as did we...great character interaction and food was good w/decent variety to choose from IMO.

Look forward to reading more.

Hi Heather!
Thanks so much for joining in!

I meant to work on the autograph books this week and just never got to it - since it is absoultely frigid here (like -10 wind chills today) and we have no plans for our weekend, I hope to work on them this weekend and get a few more pages done.

I'm waiting anxiously for hours to come out and then figure out when I can make the ADR for Chef Mickeys - it looks really cute and it will be a fun experience for all of us - I'm sure we'll probably have already seen Mickey and the gang before our character breakfast (it will be the 6th day of our trip) but it will still be fun to do. My kids love big breakfasts (well, we all do) and as long as there is a waffle involved my kids will be thrilled - they're huge waffle eaters!

Looks like you're trip is coming up soon too! I'm so anxious to see Pop and all of the giant figures/icons - my boys will be all over that giant big wheel for sure!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

I had the most productive morning ever today - I got 10 pages done in the autograph books!!!

I really can't believe I got so much done, but I am thrilled and I really like most of the pages. So here are the newest ones:

I may go back and add or change a few things on a couple of them - add a couple more little things here and there, but overall they are done and I'm really happy with them.

I guess I need to get a checklist together of characters that we'll probably see and figure out what ones I need to make pages for yet. I still have to finish Piglet, Rabbit, and Eyeore - I started them but ran out of steam here this afternoon. But at least they are coming along!!

 

[Cory's Gal]

I really LOVE the new scrapbook pages Karen! Especially the Toy Story ones Unfortunately I am not as crafty as you are so I won't be making any autograph books. I did make a scrapbook from our last trip (it's been 3 years and I am only half done)! I haven't even thought if Gabe wants autographs or not. I think Helen may be a bit too little but Gabe may be interested in it, I will probably ask him once we are there and if he feels like he wants to collect them, I will pick him up a book! The Baggallini looks really nice, now I have something to think about for our trip! Since it's messenger style I think I could get DH to carry it as well!!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

I really LOVE the new scrapbook pages Karen! Especially the Toy Story ones Unfortunately I am not as crafty as you are so I won't be making any autograph books. I did make a scrapbook from our last trip (it's been 3 years and I am only half done)! I haven't even thought if Gabe wants autographs or not. I think Helen may be a bit too little but Gabe may be interested in it, I will probably ask him once we are there and if he feels like he wants to collect them, I will pick him up a book! The Baggallini looks really nice, now I have something to think about for our trip! Since it's messenger style I think I could get DH to carry it as well!!

Thanks Beth! I'm really happy with them and getting those done has motivated me to work on some more. I'm going to try to do a few more pages this week.

I really like the messenger bag. What I like best about it is that you can easily swing it around to the front if you need to just grab someting out of it, without completely taking it off like a backpack. My DH tried it on - he didn't seem to love it to hate it...certainly wasn't jumping for joy about it like I was! I think he thinks it is a bit of a girly bag, but I don't think it is and I got the most neutal color I possibly could so he could carry it too! I think once we're down there he'll be willing to wear it - he's usually a good sport and helps me out with stuff ilke that.

 

[MommyMcQueen]

AUGUST HOURS ARE OUT!!!

I saw them last night and was SO excited, but I didn't have time to look at them until today, and it's looking pretty good, I only have a couple minor changes to make to my initital itininery to make everything coincide with hours.

The biggest change was to swap my AK and HS days around. HS has EMH on Wednesday night which I want to avoid, so we'll go there a day earlier and to go AK on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. It works out well since AK has morning EMH on Wednesday, so I'm actually very happy about that, gives us an extra hour at AK which I know we'll use. With this change, I am no longer planning to try to see Fantasmic at all. They do show it that Tuesday night, but I don't want us to be too tired on Wednesday for AK, so we'll skip it this time. My kids might be too scared of it at this age anyway, so I'm not heartbroken about missing it at all.

I am VERY happy to see that they will be showing Wishes on the night I was hoping for (Sunday, our second MK day and the night before our rest day), and Illuminations on our last night there (our second Epcot day). I don't see Spectro scheduled on our Wishes night (Wishes is at 9pm that night), so it looks like we won't get to see Spectro either, but I'm still very happy to get both Wishes and Illuminations on this trip.

I also decided to change our Character Breakfast to our first Day Off instead of the second later in the week. I figured we might as well do it earlier, that way we've seen those characters and got autographs and pictures and don't have to spend time waiting in line in the parks for them (unless the kids want to see them again of course!) And I've decided to go with Chef Mickey's for our breakfast, and after the breakfast we can ride the monorail!

 

[jeepgirl30]

Just found your PTR, awesome!

The boys are adorable. You are very creative. The books are amazing. I just ordered supplies from Joann to do mine but I don't even have hope they'll be 1/2 as organized and coordinate as yours!

I used to get my kids coordinating costumes too, Minnie and Mickey mouse were my favorite. I used to buy a lot of coordinating clothes but at 7 and 9 they think they are too cool for it anymore.

Can't wait to hear more and see those signatures all filled in

 

[Charlefours]

love the way the autograph books are progression!! Yay for August hours!! I am hoping September comes out soon--should be sometime this month according to my TA.

I think I am going to be making one for DD but may not happen until my spring break or most likely, my break in May before my summer classes begin this year. Plan, plan, plan!!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Just found your PTR, awesome!

The boys are adorable. You are very creative. The books are amazing. I just ordered supplies from Joann to do mine but I don't even have hope they'll be 1/2 as organized and coordinate as yours!

I used to get my kids coordinating costumes too, Minnie and Mickey mouse were my favorite. I used to buy a lot of coordinating clothes but at 7 and 9 they think they are too cool for it anymore.

Can't wait to hear more and see those signatures all filled in

Hi JeepGirl!
Thanks for joining in! I got some Disney supplies from Joann a could weeks ago when they had 40% off - got a couple cute packs of stickers (the dimensional EK Success ones) and some mickey ear letters. There is so much cute stuff!

Thanks for the compliments on the books - I haven't been able to work on them yet this week, but hopefully tomorrow I can - usually Friday is my kind of free day and I can get some done.

Yeah, I usually don't dress the kids alike at all, just for Halloween - they seem to enjoy having costumes that go together - we'll see how long that lasts though!

love the way the autograph books are progression!! Yay for August hours!! I am hoping September comes out soon--should be sometime this month according to my TA.

I think I am going to be making one for DD but may not happen until my spring break or most likely, my break in May before my summer classes begin this year. Plan, plan, plan!!

Thanks Charlefours! They are coming along nicely, I now need to find a listing somewhere of which other characters to make pages for - I know there are a lot of pretty common characters that we'll most likely see, but I need to find out which ones. Like who is in each of the World Showcase countries?

One more month and you're hours will be out! The waiting was tough, especially that last week - I was checking every day! But now that they're out I have done as much planning as I thought I would, I guess because I don't really need to switch much around, so that is good.

You have lots of time to work on your autograph books, I started early since I really didn't know how I was going to make them our how they would turn out. But it's going pretty smoothly now and I just need to get back at it!

 

[Charlefours]

Thanks Charlefours! They are coming along nicely, I now need to find a listing somewhere of which other characters to make pages for - I know there are a lot of pretty common characters that we'll most likely see, but I need to find out which ones. Like who is in each of the World Showcase countries?

One more month and you're hours will be out! The waiting was tough, especially that last week - I was checking every day! But now that they're out I have done as much planning as I thought I would, I guess because I don't really need to switch much around, so that is good.

You have lots of time to work on your autograph books, I started early since I really didn't know how I was going to make them our how they would turn out. But it's going pretty smoothly now and I just need to get back at it!

Yup I have time before we go but I have classes pretty much every week but 5 weeks (three in May/June and two in August) total before we go to Disney!! So I have to fit stuff in between as best as possible!

I still need to settle on what I want to do. I cannot decide if I want to keep it in a book format with pictures added afterwards or do a Tag book so I can add the tags into a big scrapbook. Most likely, I am going to do a small book that DD can easily flip through than scan in the autographs for the big scrapbook album.

 

[Cory's Gal]

AUGUST HOURS ARE OUT!!!

I saw them last night and was SO excited, but I didn't have time to look at them until today, and it's looking pretty good, I only have a couple minor changes to make to my initital itininery to make everything coincide with hours.

The biggest change was to swap my AK and HS days around. HS has EMH on Wednesday night which I want to avoid, so we'll go there a day earlier and to go AK on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. It works out well since AK has morning EMH on Wednesday, so I'm actually very happy about that, gives us an extra hour at AK which I know we'll use. With this change, I am no longer planning to try to see Fantasmic at all. They do show it that Tuesday night, but I don't want us to be too tired on Wednesday for AK, so we'll skip it this time. My kids might be too scared of it at this age anyway, so I'm not heartbroken about missing it at all.

I am VERY happy to see that they will be showing Wishes on the night I was hoping for (Sunday, our second MK day and the night before our rest day), and Illuminations on our last night there (our second Epcot day). I don't see Spectro scheduled on our Wishes night (Wishes is at 9pm that night), so it looks like we won't get to see Spectro either, but I'm still very happy to get both Wishes and Illuminations on this trip.

I also decided to change our Character Breakfast to our first Day Off instead of the second later in the week. I figured we might as well do it earlier, that way we've seen those characters and got autographs and pictures and don't have to spend time waiting in line in the parks for them (unless the kids want to see them again of course!) And I've decided to go with Chef Mickey's for our breakfast, and after the breakfast we can ride the monorail!

Awesome that hours came out so you can start more planning Karen!!
We skipped Fantasmic! when we took Gabe the first time and we'll be skipping this time around too! I have seen it before, it's fun but I have yet to be sad to miss it on the last two trips! I personally love Illuminations and Wishes and I feel some parts of Fantasmic! are little intense for my kiddos.
Yeah for Chef Mickey's too!! That will be so much fun!!

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Awesome that hours came out so you can start more planning Karen!!
We skipped Fantasmic! when we took Gabe the first time and we'll be skipping this time around too! I have seen it before, it's fun but I have yet to be sad to miss it on the last two trips! I personally love Illuminations and Wishes and I feel some parts of Fantasmic! are little intense for my kiddos.
Yeah for Chef Mickey's too!! That will be so much fun!!

Hi Beth-
I'm just so happy that it worked out to see Wishes and Illuminations that I'm not too sad about missing Fantasmic. If we go back again in a few years we can see it then, when the kids are older.

Chef Mickeys should be fun, it looks really cute. I'm glad I decided to move it up and do it on the first day off (...not sure why I didn't think of that before?? ) but I'm excited to do it. I have a couple more weeks before I can make the reservation - I plan to do the reservation online - have you done them online before or just called in?

 

[MommyMcQueen]

Yup I have time before we go but I have classes pretty much every week but 5 weeks (three in May/June and two in August) total before we go to Disney!! So I have to fit stuff in between as best as possible!

I still need to settle on what I want to do. I cannot decide if I want to keep it in a book format with pictures added afterwards or do a Tag book so I can add the tags into a big scrapbook. Most likely, I am going to do a small book that DD can easily flip through than scan in the autographs for the big scrapbook album.

Hi Charlefours-
Sounds like you do have a very busy schedule! Hope you are able to find time to work on your autograph books!

I had not thought about how I was going to get the autographs into my main scrapbooks - scanning them is a great idea. That way the kids can keep their books intact and I can still get the autos in the scrapbook. Thanks for the idea!

Sadly I have not worked on my books at all this week - I had such good intentions to work on it, and just never did. Hopefully this week I can get at least a few pages done!

 

[Charlefours]

Hi Charlefours-
Sounds like you do have a very busy schedule! Hope you are able to find time to work on your autograph books!

I had not thought about how I was going to get the autographs into my main scrapbooks - scanning them is a great idea. That way the kids can keep their books intact and I can still get the autos in the scrapbook. Thanks for the idea!

Sadly I have not worked on my books at all this week - I had such good intentions to work on it, and just never did. Hopefully this week I can get at least a few pages done!

I love DIS because of all the ideas we bounce off of each other and get from others. I am glad that I mentioned the scanned autographs. There are digital kits out there that have them already but if I scan in the actual ones we get, I think that would make the scrapbook extra special.

I have not worked on anything other than school work and I have my huge to do list for the trip worked out (there will be more added I am sure to it ). It will get done!! I just need to settle on what I want to do and go from there.