Planning and Preparation--Walt Disney World Trip # 9!

Preparations for Walt Disney World trip number 9 are in high gear!

Suitcases out—check.

Packing list made—check.

Packing of clothes complete—check.

Okay, I’ll even admit that the clothes we are wearing the day we are flying are hung on hangers ready to go in the car.  Since we are driving to the airport the day before our flight and staying in a hotel, I pack a suitcase just for that overnight stay so that we don’t have to bring in all the luggage from the car.  Since the clothes are already on hangers, I just hang them in the car then bring them in with the suitcase.  The next morning, our dirty clothes go in that suitcase which stays in the car—no lugging dirty clothes with us when we leave for our trip!

Disney paperwork arrived and in a folder—check.

Registered for Disney Storytime, a AAA Member benefit—check.

Disney Storytime will be a new experience for us.  While it has been a AAA Member benefit for sometime, this will be our first time taking advantage.  Held on certain days at certain times in EPCOT’s Innoventions West, it required a reservation.  We will let you know how it goes.

Itinerary made and ready to send to friends and family—check.

Daily itinerary cards made for me and the husband—check.

The daily itinerary cards are something new I am trying.  Typically, I am the keeper of the information—which park on which day, when do we eat and where, flight numbers, times for flights, etc.  The husband and sometimes the boy, then pepper me with lots of questions.  The last trip, I printed out an itinerary, similar to the one given to family and friends, to give to the husband.  This helped minimize the number of questions.  This time, I created a Power Point—not to use for a presentation, but to put information for each day on a “slide.”  I was able to include park hours, confirmation numbers, important things to remember such as on the day we are at Magic Kingdom and then head to EPCOT for dinner, that the monorails at Magic Kingdom will not be running until after 6:00 pm so we will need to take the ferry to the TTC and then take the EPCOT monorail line.  I then printed the slides on card stock, and by selecting the “handout” option with 3 slides per page, they are just the right size to go in the plastic pocket of his lanyard or in his wallet.  This way, he and I will both have all the information we need at our fingertips, so he won’t need to ask me questions while I am trying to get prepared and ready in the morning.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

Receive the 50 Disney trading pins ordered from eBay—check.

Pack the clear backpack ordered from eBay—check.

Yes, the husband now has more Disney pins to trade.  I was able to order a “lot” of 50 pins on eBay for less than $27.00 including shipping.  The price was right!  The husband and the boy sifted through the pins, with the boy trying to negotiate some for himself.  The husband was generous and offered him the Stitch pins that came in the bundle.

The clear backpack is something new for this trip.  We typically bring a backpack into the parks, along with a cross body bag which I carry.  The backpack holds our rain gear, snacks, glow necklaces, pocket seats, etc.  We are going to see how it works at the bag security station.  Someone mentioned about having people “see your stuff.”  Well, there’s nothing secret going into the bag and maybe seeing our stuff will help someone else plan for their Disney trip.

There are still things to do, such as register our PhotoPass card that was in included in our Disney paperwork, pre-purchase the PhotoPass CD, and pack the toiletry items.  Ah, the preparation and planning continue!