Going Wild Disney Style PTR - April 6-16, 2013 - Page 10 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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I will be working on an update today. I have fallen slightly behind with planning, taxes, Girl Scout cookies, bills, homeschooling and chasing a puppy. I'm starting to stress a little.
I have been busy trying to get everything ready for the trip and still get so many other things done. I realized planning a trip in early April was not the best idea for me with bills, taxes and Girl Scout cookie season ending just a week before the trip. Just a little stress! But we are now 31 days away from my favorite place to wind down.
Friday April 12, 2013 - Animal Kingdom
We will start the day at Animal Kingdom hopefully around park opening or shortly thereafter. This is a favorite park for us, but we often don't spend much time here because it can feel crowded quickly and that tends to cause problems with the kids. Hopefully, we won't have those problems this time.
1. Expedition Everest - Hunter is claiming he is going to ride this, not sure if that will happen or not. I know me, Pat, Shana and Maya will. We may have to take turns if Hunter doesn't ride since my mom will be leaving early this day. 2. Maharajah Jungle Trek - We have never done this trail. We did one trail in 2007 and it was horribly crowded and we rushed through just to get out of there. I'm hoping we can visit a few this time, I think the kids will enjoy them. 3. Flame Tree Barbecue - Lunch - We love Flame Tree! It is one of our top counter service restaurants in all of WDW. 4. Camp Minnie-Mickey Greeting Trails - If we have time and they are still there, we will visit some of the characters for some autographs. 5. Festival of the Lion King - Although I like this show, it is not my favorite. The kids like the energy and seem to enjoy it, and I think Maya will enjoy it. 6. Dinosaur - Again, not sure if Hunter will try this or not. He loves the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland, but the dinosaurs might be a little much for him. We have watched the videos on youtube and he says he can handle it, but I'm not sure. 7. Primeval Whirl - Also and iffy one for Hunter. He loves the wild mouse type rides, but with the extra spinning, might throw him off. We will see. This trip is going to be interesting because Hunter is wanting to try many of the "big kid" rides, but emotionally he may not be ready. 8. It's Tough to Be a Bug! - Not really my favorite but it is fun. I will see if Hunter wants to sit on my lap or on a bench. He is not a a fan of some of the sensory things. 9. Finding Nemo - We love this show. We discovered that we like it from the front and the back. From the back you see and observe the beautiful puppetry, from the front you tend to observe the actors. So we don't care where we sit (although I prefer the front). 10. Pangani Forest Exploration Trail - I think this is the trail we did in 2007, I'm hoping to get to see a little more of it. 11. Tusker House - Dinner 6pm - We have not eaten here before, but I heard it is similar to Boma and we love Boma.
After dinner we will head back to the resort and the kids will have some time to swim before bed.
Weight Loss Update: I have not been doing as well. I had the jump up and have been teetering between 211-214 for the past couple of weeks. I'm trying to kick back into gear, but I am just struggling. I'm hoping to lose 10-12 lbs. before the trip. It's not out of the question, but I have to get recharged.
I'm throwing in a little bonus update. I have been trying to work on a few plans here and there between Girl Scout cookie sales and all the million other things I have to do.
Today I worked on a homeschool project for Shana and Maya will be doing it for extra credit in her Social Studies class.
They will need to find a minimum of 3 different CM's from 3 different countries and ask them a series of questions about their country. They will record the answers and then when returning home will create posters for each of the CM's. The posters will include maps, photos and other information they learned from the CM.
Here is the list of questions, and I'm putting in parenthesis what they may include on the poster:
1. What is your name?
2. What country are you originally from? (map of world with country noted)
3. What City, Town, Village etc. are you from? (map of the city/town/village)
4. Is it a rural, suburban or an urban area? (pictures of the area)
5. How many years did you live there?
6. What are your favorite foods from that country? (Shana and I will look up recipes and cook some of the foods and add pictures to the poster)
7. What language(s) are spoken there? (look up words such as "hello", "goodbye", etc. and put them on the poster)
8. What were the most common religions in your country? (look up basic information on the religion and include in poster)
9. What types of resources were common in your country (crops, animals, products etc.)? (include pictures of the resources as well as statistics on them)
10. What is the climate in your country/town (mountains/deserts etc.)? (look up maps and weather information)
11. If I was to visit your country or town, what is something I should not miss while I'm there? (look up information on this and include details in the poster)
12. How long have you lived in the United States?
When they are done they will ask permission to take pictures with the CM to include on the poster.
If the girls enjoy this they are welcome to visit as many countries as they like. We will probably have them complete one at AKL as well.
I'm hoping they find it enjoyable. It will be really good for social skills for the girls as well. I may have Hunter complete one for 1 CM and make a poster for that one.
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I am hoping to have some time to get the last of our plans together before this trip. We have been so busy selling Girl Scout Cookies that I haven't had time for much else. We finished cookies today (even though we could sell till March 31st ), and Shana did fantastic and sold 1,092 boxes! I'm very proud of all her hard work.
For trip planning I have been picking up some things we need. I bought me a pair of Keen sandals for the waterpark (needed something with arch support). Got the kids each a pair of Crocs for the waterpark/pools. Ordered the kids some shorts/capris as well as dressy shoes for our dinner at Narcoossee's. I also picked up a dress and shoes for me. I pre-ordered the PhotoPass +, and I ordered a large suitcase for the trip. Finally I picked up all the travel size toiletries we need and now should have everything we need for the trip in the house. I'm sure I'm missing something, but nothing I can think of right now.
We are now just 22 days away and I can't believe it is almost here. I'm getting very excited!
Let me continue with our next day of plans.
Saturday April 13, 2013 - Epcot
We will be planning to start a little on the late side this day. I'm shooting for arriving at Epcot around 10am. If we get there a little later I will just have to alter the plans accordingly.
1. Soarin' - Depending on the wait we may grab FP's and come back later. If not we will just ride now. We all love this ride and I can't wait to see what Maya thinks of it. 2. The Circle of Life - Shana had this on her "must-do" list so we will watch it again. It's okay for the rest of it, but Shana loves Timon and Pumba and finds the show very amusing. 3. Nine Dragons - 12:00p Lunch - We will trek to China and eat at Nine Dragons for lunch. We have never been here before, but I have made the Honey Sesame Chicken at home using my Cooking with Mickey Cookbook and we all love it. I'm curious to see who makes it better.
** After lunch we will let the girls go off on their own to work on their project or just do some things they would like to do. Hunter will stay with me and Pat and we will do the following. When exploring the pavilions we may do the Agent P adventures as we explore.** 4. China Pavilion - After lunch we will explore the China Pavilion a bit. 5. Mexico Pavilion - We will head to the Mexico Pavilion and check things out there. I will probably pick up one of the hand-painted animals for Shana. I have bought her one every trip. 6. Gran Fiesta Tour 7. Innoventions East - We will let Hunter explore a little. 8. Spaceship Earth - Hunter loves this attraction. 9. Innoventions West - More exploring. 10. Seas with Nemo & Friends 11. Turtle Talk with Crush - This always makes me nervous with Hunter. He does not have the social skills to understand that other kids want to talk and generally dominates the show. I've learned to not worry about it and just let what happens, happen. I do try to talk to him before the show and try to get him to think of a question to ask and try to tell him to let others talk, but it doesn't always happen. 12. Club Cool - I'm not sure whether to have Hunter try the Beverly. We have never been in here before (not sure why), so I have no idea what it tastes like and what he would do when he drinks it. 13. Canada Pavilion 14. O Canada! - Yet, another show we have not seen. I'm hoping Hunter will be in good spirits and we can see this. 15. Germany Pavilion 16. Via Napoli - 7:45p Dinner - Another restaurant we have not been too. I am looking forward to this as I have never felt there were any good pizza options and I have read that this is pretty good.
Looking at this I might call the itinerary planning tomorrow and see if I can change our dinner to a little earlier. We have the Sunrise Safari the following morning and we may want to get out of the park a little earlier. That may bump us visiting a pavilion or two, but I'm sure we will see them at some point in the trip.
Weight Loss Update: Okay, I'm just going to say that I have struggled the last couple weeks. With cookie sales we aren't home very much and we grab what is available. I am hoping to recharge and lose a little more before the trip. Right now I'm still sitting at about 215. I'm a little discouraged as I really wanted to lose a lot more, but I also feel like I can live how I've been eating and not feel deprived. I'm planning to keep going till the trip, I'm not worrying about it then, and I will get back on track when I get home.
Next Update: Sunday April 14, 2013 - Animal Kingdom AM & Magic Kingdom PM
Your plans all look great. Can't imagine how you have had time to do such nice plans with all that's going on - you must be a super multi-tasker
Over 1,000 boxes of cookies sold - congrats to Shana. That is quite an accomplishment.
The homeschooling projects are creative - the kids will learn some things, and also end up with a nice souvenir of their visit. The trip is just around the corner.
Your plans all look great. Can't imagine how you have had time to do such nice plans with all that's going on - you must be a super multi-tasker
Over 1,000 boxes of cookies sold - congrats to Shana. That is quite an accomplishment.
The homeschooling projects are creative - the kids will learn some things, and also end up with a nice souvenir of their visit. The trip is just around the corner.
I actually have been working on the plans since the 180 day mark. I have rough plans at that point in order to book dining and then just fine tune them. But yes, I do multi-task a lot and after cookies and all the chaos, planning is my way of relaxing in the evening before bed.
Shana is a great cookie sales girl. This is the most she has ever sold and I'm probably going to buy some extra to push her over the 1100 mark. It doesn't get her extra prizes but it will make her feel good. We weren't sure how she would do selling in our little town of only 900 people. I'm very proud of all her hard work. She is paying her way to summer camp.
It is right around the corner and I'm starting to really get excited and panicked about all I have left to do. But it will all fall in place.
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), and Shana did fantastic and sold 1,092 boxes! I'm very proud of all her hard work. 
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