Mother-Daughter 13th Birthday/Princess Half PTR - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Cast of Characters:
Me: Age 44, an unlikely Disney fan and newish runner.
(I avoided taking the kids to WDW until our oldest was 12, then went reluctantly on a trip hosted by my parents. We ended up purchasing DVC points six months later! Now we visit at least once/year and even made it to Disneyland for six days last September.)
DD: Age 12, turning 13 a few days after our return. Looking forward to touring the parks commando style with no siblings or dad to slow things down. orly amy.jpg
When: Feb. 21 - 26, 2013
Where: Staying in a studio at the Beach Club Villas (Stormalong Bay, here we come!)
Background: We started a "tradition" when DS turned 13 of a solo 13th birthday trip with one parent, no siblings. DH took DS to Star Wars Weekends a few years ago. Now it's my turn! (I need to keep reminding myself that this trip is for my daughter, not for me.) We booked a studio at the Beach Club using our DVC points exactly 7 months ahead of time (Beach Club is not our home resort). With DD's input, we decided to combine her birthday trip with my goal of running the Princess Half Marathon. She'll get to sleep in that morning.
DD's top goals for the trip:
Complete an Ultimate Touring Plan of the Magic Kingdom (doing all core attractions and shows - about 50 - in one day)
Enjoy Stormalong Bay
Stay in the parks open to close (unless we are at Stormalong Bay) - no slowing down to accommodate siblings
My top goals for the trip:
Enjoy some one-on-one time with my oldest daughter!
Finish the Princess Half Marathon
Not worry too much about DH and two children left at home (DD, 5, has never been away from me overnight and is not happy about the prospect)
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We live on an island off the coast of Maine. Connected to the mainland via a bridge... but it's a good hour and a half to the nearest (tiny) airport. Usually we have to drive to Portland (3+ hours with no snow or traffic) or drive to Portland and take a bus to Boston to get a reasonable flight to Orlando. We scored on this trip with decent fares from Bangor.
We'll leave home Thursday morning, fly through New York, and arrive at MCO around 8:30 p.m. On the way back, we were originally scheduled on a flight out of MCO at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday with two connections, arriving in Maine late afternoon. They changed one of the flight times, making a connection very close and DH (who is a very frequent traveler and has platinum status with the airline) called to see if they could find a better option. Score! We got moved to a different itinerary and are now leaving at 10:30 a.m. with only one connection. And no additional fee!
DD has always wanted to stay at the Beach Club. She can't wait to try out the Stormalong Bay pool. When we travel as a family, we usually stay at Old Key West. A great deal more space and significantly fewer DVC points. Hard to pass up when you are traveling with a family of 5 (and sometimes 7 if grandparents are along). This seemed like a great opportunity to let her try the Beach Club as we'll be staying in a studio.
We've been thinking about this trip for a while, so I logged on to the DVC site as soon as it opened exactly 7 months out to try to snag the room. I had been checking daily to see if it looked like it would work (plugging in 10 nights to see if it would cover the 5 we wanted) and knew we had a good shot at it. Bingo! It was very fun to tell my daughter I had gotten the reservation.
Usually we try to maximize our on-property nights with early arrivals and late departures. If we get in late, we'll stay at an airport hotel and then take Magical Express to WDW the next morning. And then we'll find the latest possible flight out so that we can spend most of the day in the park before we leave. That strategy didn't work for this trip. Since the whole family isn't traveling, time is at more of a premium. DH and younger DD (5) will be more than ready for us to return on Tuesday afternoon! (DS 15 will be happy to see us, but won't be nearly as bothered by our absence.)
Here's a photo of my youngest with Minnie Mouse last year... she's not very happy that we are going without her this time! We've promised to bring her back some treats. Any good ideas??? Avital and Minnie.jpg
(can't figure out how to make the photos bigger than a thumbnail - sorry!)
That's an adorable photo of your little one with Minnie! I don't think you'll have any problem finding treats for her! Plush, a cute outfit, candy?
I know Deer Isle fairly well-- used to live in Camden. It's a beautiful place! I always used to fly out of Portland and it seemed like most of the time my early morning flights would be fogged in. Probably better luck in Bangor!
I hope that you and your dd have a magical time at the world
__________________
Heather - "I'm Tinkerbell's biggest fan!"
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
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WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
That's an adorable photo of your little one with Minnie! I don't think you'll have any problem finding treats for her! Plush, a cute outfit, candy?
I know Deer Isle fairly well-- used to live in Camden. It's a beautiful place! I always used to fly out of Portland and it seemed like most of the time my early morning flights would be fogged in. Probably better luck in Bangor!
Camden is beautiful too! We love living on the coast of Maine. And good point on Portland....it can get very foggy. Hopefully the Bangor flights will work out without any hitches.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bsblady01
I hope that you and your dd have a magical time at the world
Thank you! I'm sure that we will.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
So glad you were able to get into the Beach Club - you'll love it!
I'm really looking forward to the Beach Club. I love exploring new resorts and will enjoy being so close to Epcot.
The two "anchors" of our trip are doing the Ultimate Touring Plan in the Magic Kingdom (45+ attractions in one day) and the Princess Half Marathon on Sunday.
Half-Marathon
Originally I thought this would be my first half marathon.... but we ended traveling to Disneyland over Labor Day and I was able to run the Disneyland 1/2 (So fun! But that's another story). This upcoming trip is going to be mainly about celebrating my daughter's birthday rather than the race. I'm not going to stress about eating and resting perfectly in the days leading up to Sunday. That said, I have to pick up my packet at the Expo on Friday or Saturday and will be busy Sunday from middle of the night until at least 9:00 a.m.
Here's a photo from the Disneyland Half Marathon. Disneyland Half.jpg
Ultimate Touring Plan
My daughter is captivated by the idea of trying this and wants to do the full-fledged contest where you send in your plans, take photos at every attraction, etc. I think it will be a fun adventure but am a little worried about setting her up for disappointment if we don't finish. Our 2 options are Friday or Monday. The park is open an hour later on Friday but crowds are predicted to be high. Monday is our last day (so no opportunity for a redo) but crowds are predicted to be much lighter.
For now....
Here is our tentative big picture itinerary: Thursday: Arrive after 9:30 p.m., explore the resort, go to bed Friday: Be at Magic Kingdom before opening and attempt the Ultimate Touring Plan Saturday: EMH at Hollywood Studios, bus to Coronado Springs resort for the race expo, Epcot for lunch, Stormalong Bay afternoon, evening in Epcot Sunday: Princess Half Marathon, Magic Kingdom Monday: EMH at Animal Kingdom, Stormalong Bay, Epcot for late afternoon/evening, including evening EMH from 9-11
The Ultimate Touring Plan sounds like quite a challenge! The hard part is that a lot is out of your control. Crowds, ride breakdowns, etc can make a mess of the best-laid plans. Good luck, though. It'll be fun to do!
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) We booked a studio at the Beach Club using our DVC points exactly 7 months ahead of time (Beach Club is not our home resort). With DD's input, we decided to combine her birthday trip with my goal of running the Princess Half Marathon. She'll get to sleep in that morning.
Deer Isle Mom
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