I got this!!!!

[RMmom]

Pre-trip portion of report.....


It will be my 1st solo trip with the kids. read this thread to know why, if you don't already know.... https://www.easywdw.com/forums/showt...n-do-this-!-!-!
(obviously, I don't know how to make a hyperlink )


We are going in September for a week.
We will be going to our 2nd MNSSHP and we have the before HEA dessert garden view booked.
We will fly down on SW.
We have a few cars booked at the moment....waiting for the best deal....we book through Costco.
We have a rental house booked. It will be our 2nd time staying at this amazing house.
We have 6 day park tickets.
We plan to do 2 days at MK, 2 days at Epcot, 1 day at AK and 1 day at HS & the party at MK (so 3 days at MK)
We plan to go in the morning, home for a break to swim and chill and back in the evening.


I am very excited about our trip & can't wait to tell you all about the fun we had on this trip.

[Anne]

Yay! So excited for you. Were you able to get the different tickets and dessert party sorted out for 1 fewer?

[toodles]

That’s wonderful!!! Have a fantastic time!

[RMmom]

Yay! So excited for you. Were you able to get the different tickets and dessert party sorted out for 1 fewer?

park tickets were not bought through WDW so I plan to save for later and have the value applied to a ticket for another trip OR I will give the ticket to my friend for her to use on her upcoming trip.

party ticket...I am very hopeful this will be easy to do. I will happily take a GC for the reimbursement. I plan to call about that soon.

dessert party....haven't called yet but I am 100% sure they will refund it because it is more than 5 days out.

[Carley]

I can't wait to hear about it!

[Meridahair]

Have a fantastic time!

[ChristineOH]

Sounds great! It's always nice to have a trip to look forward to! Planning is a nice escape from all sorts of issues.

[jillyb]

Looking forward to hearing about your trip!

[Momofpirates]

I'm in!

[BSS]

Can't wait to hear all about it!

[Craftysplat]

I can't wait to read your report. I shared before but my ex-husband did a similar thing to me and planning my vacation with my daughter became my escape from reality and some days was the only thing I felt excited about. I've since taken her 3 more times and we have our 4th trip in December and a Disney Cruise booked for Dec 2019.

I think you will find some different challenges going solo with the kids, but also that in a lot of ways it is more relaxing and enjoyable with one less person to worry about. And in 20 years your kids will looks back and go, oh my gosh mom rocked so hard back in the day when she didn't even miss a beat and still managed to take us on wonderful vacations.

[lovett1979]

I am so excited to read about your trip!

[RMmom]

we are about 2 weeks away from the trip. I got this!!!!

Disney refunded the MNSSHP and HEA dessert parties to the credit card.

All FP+ are good and I really haven't tried to move them around.

Our Magic Bands arrived.

I have ordered some new fun wrap around headbands for us for this trip....feel like these are more likely to be worn over and over at home, even when not at WDW...rather than mickey mouse ear headbands.

we are in a memory maker share and looking forward to having family pics of the 4 of us without having to stop random people to have them take them.

have started gathering stuff that we will need there...pins for trading, frogg toggs, squirt bottles, blow up ring floats, ponchos....
it feels good to start packing.

________________

divorce update.

mediation is over. we now have to switch a 401k to my name and have paralegal file for us.
he only wants 2 days with the kids a month.
because we had the mediator, he was quick to understand the amount of money I was owed for me as spouse and for kids for child support.
without this help, he would have low-balled me and to avoid the drama...I probably would have agreed.
mediation was great for us and very cheap compared to us both getting lawyers.
I can't wait for the documents to be signed and be done. hoping it will happen soon....waiting on him to do his end of the paperwork...he loves to take 2-3 weeks for something that should take 15 minutes.

____________________________

I may check in every night to debrief and tell you what we did that day. Think it will help me wind down each night.



Screen Shot 2018-08-24 at 2.39.15 PM.jpg

[mgarbowski]

That's great news.
Mediation doesn't always work (speaking of legal matters generally, including but not limited to divorce).

But for the right dispute, with parties who are prepared to be reasonable, even if not being reasonable to date, a good mediator can work wonders. Sounds like you had the right mix.

[BSS]

So glad mediation went well.

I will gladly follow along with as many updates as you want to give. I'm 39 days out and will happily live vicariously through trip reports until then!

[nolarookie]

I’m glad things worked out well in mediation(and getting your refunds). I hope your success continues.

Have a great trip! Hope you report back and have a wonderful time.

[jillyb]

Glad mediation went well. Looking forward to reading about your trip!

[Goofballs]

Sounds like you are in your way to a great trip.

without this help, he would have low-balled me and to avoid the drama...I probably would have agreed.

And always remember - “you’ve got this!!!!!”

Looking forward to your trip report!

[RMmom]

Day 1

Today was the day.....we flew to FL today.
We were B23+ for SW boarding. I was a tad nervous that we wouldn't be able to sit how we wanted to....3 kids together and me across the way from them.
We were through all lines and at the gate 20 mins before the boarding started.
I had the nerves taking over me, so I popped my xanax.
When we got on the plane, we sat in row 21. 3 kids together on the right side and me on the aisle on the left.
the flight felt like it lasted 20 mins and it was stress-free.
we landed 20 mins early....yahoo!
got the RAV4 from Alamo with 0 wait.
drove to the home we rented.
amazon prime now delivery was great
we swam, went in the hot tUb and chilled for the night.

Day 1 was perfect.

Day 2 is mnsshp

[nolarookie]

Have fun!

[lovett1979]

Yay! Glad travelling went smoothly. Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip. You got this!!!

[jillyb]

Woohoo!! You're there!!

[Anne]

Glad to hear your first day went so well!!!!

[BSS]

So happy that all is going well. I'm looking forward to reading more. Have a wonderful time!!!

[RMmom]

Day 2~
mnsshp
we arrived at the party a few mins after 4pm.
we went down the official welcome to the party path and got bags and starter candy
we like to start our trips with the flying carpets, so we did. the ride was perfect and we got sprayed with camel spit. it has been a few years since this last happened because the last trip was in Feb.
then, we rode hm pre-theming for the night.
the girls rode together and I rode with the boy. it was perfect and sweet how we split ...this split happened for most of the night.
then, we rode its a small world and got the front row and sang along.
those 3 rides were all walk-ons.
next, we used our FP to ride Peter Pan.
kids were hungry by now so we decided what a great 1st WDW dinner would be and that happened to be a pretzel with cheese...no cheese for the boy. we got them back by dumbo and right after we bought them everything was shut down because there was lightning in the area. we sat while they ate and then went and got a 3 Le Fou brews for the kids to wash it down. there was still no rain at this point but things were still closed, if outside.
so, we walked on to the little mermaid ride. I rode with the lil girl and the big 2 rode together.
then, we went to ride buzz...I got the high score with 121,900. there was a 10 min wait here (posted as 25)
it was finally party time!!!!
it started to drizzle.
so.....we went on people mover and we had a blast.
the rain was over by the time we exited the ride.
we checked out tea cups with the party twist.
I spun the kids til we were all dizzy and I will give 10/10 to this twist and tell everyone to give it a whirl.
we did wait about 10 mins to get on it.
we walked over and rode btmrr 3x in a row with no wait.
this is where I have to tell you that ALL 3 of my kids rode it. my big girl has never been a fan, she has tried it a few times but it was too intense for her...she is NOT a thrill person.
the lil 2 said they wanted to go and she didnt want to be left out and/or she was ready to give it a go.
She LOVED it.
the 3 girls rode together and the boy rode behind us.
she laughed and screamed a bit.
then we went on it 2 more times......SHOCKER....the 3 kids rode together and I rode solo.
the 3 had their hands up for part of the rides.
disney magic happened!!!!
after that, we needed ice water...stopped at pecos bills
went to the front of the park to get the mnsshp card. wish there was a better location to get these.
walked all the way back to hm to ride with the theming.
DOH
got caught in the 915 parade and had to wait it out ....oops....rookie mistake
then we rode hm with the extra theming...kids love the extras and had to ride once before and once thetheming was added on.
went on tea cups for the 2nd time...they LOVE this ride.
watched the fireworks by gastons tavern....have never watched back there and it was so cool to be surrounded by fireworks.
walked back to dumbo and rode it 3x without having to get off between rides. YAHOOOOOO! I do love this ride at night.
we walked over to frontierland to watch the 1115 parade. front row. we sat down at about 1050.
that parade is so cool....we love the grave diggers the most.
after the parade, we went on pirates and the 3 actors were not a reason to ride it during mnsshp, imo.
it was midnight.
we did a bit of shopping.
got on the 1st ferry and back to TTC.


we went through a few t-o-t lines all closer to the end of the event. we walked right through and got plenty of candy. I am always shocked at the people that get in line near the start and wait 20+ mins for a handful of candy.

we took many pics throughout the night with PP people....site is down now....grrr....cant wait to see them. I think I will be a sweaty mess. it was HOT.

I never ate all night. I drank 1 water. need to remind myself that this was a mistake and do better tomorrow.

I cried 4x ...all happy tears. 3x were before we even stepped foot in the park.... seeing the sign, thinking about how this trip might not have happened and that we were there in the happiest place and I was so happy and thankful.

I am so tired. it is 318 as I am finishing this post....I was waiting for the laundry to be ready for the dryer.
we didnt get home til after 1 and then we all took showers...we NEEDED them.
kids needed water/snacks....kids asleep by 2ish ....now I need to go switch the clothes and off to bed for me too.

it was an amazing day 2 of the trip and day 1 at wdw.

thanks for reading along.
I will post pics soon....if not while I am here...once I get home.

ignore any typos or crappy grammar....I am sleepy.

I am also one happy mama tonight!!!!