Newsies: From Scratch - May And September 2024! - UPDATE 5/14

[SimplyGoofy]

Hooray for your single digit dance (and even closer now!) despite your last few days of craziness before your trip!

Also, hooray for your MNNSHP ticket! I hope Disney is able to work with you to “exchange” for a second party ticket - it would be a nicer experience at both parties if you could take your time enjoying them rather than smush everything in to one night.

 

[Newsies]

Exciting days for you - your trip will be here before you know it! Will be anxiously awaiting your TR!

I'm so excited!!!

Hooray for your single digit dance (and even closer now!) despite your last few days of craziness before your trip!

Also, hooray for your MNNSHP ticket! I hope Disney is able to work with you to “exchange” for a second party ticket - it would be a nicer experience at both parties if you could take your time enjoying them rather than smush everything in to one night.

It has been so crazy! So excited to do the Halloween party. I'll call Disney re: my second party once I'm back from... well, Disney!

 

[Newsies]

The Final Countdown for May
​

Okay, DISboards: we, as a community, simply do not talk enough about how insane those last few days before your Disney vacation feels. Or maybe I'm the insane one and nobody else can relate to this -- I find this is the case more often than not. But there's a not-so-sweet spot in between the single digit dance -- particularly when we get to the 5 day mark -- and the time you leave for Disney that just drives me wild!

I've been simultaneously not thinking about our vacation and only thinking about our vacation for the last 72 hours. Even when I think I'm locked in and focused on getting my work done this week, there's a buzzing noise in the back of my head reminding me that I'm going to be a 27-year-old in Epcot this time next week. It's not like it's preventing me from getting my work done -- I'm actually pleasantly surprised at how productive I've been these past two days! -- but the thoughts are just... there, running in the background. And now I'm home from work, and I have all this downtime to myself, and every time I think about everything I'll be doing this time next week, I overwhelm myself and don't want to think about any of it.

Don't even get me started about my sleep schedule. I can barely sleep, and when I do sleep: I dream exclusively about being at Walt Disney World. My brain is a wreck right now!

I am also steadfast in my belief that these last few days before the trip are the worst days of the year for anyone with as much anxiety as I have. These are the last few days where your planning and preparations really come down to the wire and you start to second guess everything you've done and you're like, "okay, what am I forgetting?", especially in regards to packing. I have a really good track record with not forgetting important things (knock on wood), but it's the truly random things I forget to do before we leave that get to me. I'll be sitting in my car halfway through North Carolina and think "D'oh! Three months ago I swore I was going to get a plain canvas tote for the characters to autograph this time! "

I think I've mitigated as much of that as possible this trip because I'm actively trying to pack as little as possible. There are still a few things I have to pack (all articles of clothing), and I need to charge my camera battery and fuel rods for the car ride, but other than that, I think I'm golden.

This past weekend was, predictably, as busy as you'd expect it to be. Started off bright and early Saturday morning by taking my car to get a little washy-wash, then we went out as a family to pick up something at Harbor Freight (mom needed carabiners for something), dad got his truck washed, we stopped at AAA and Five Below to grab a few last-minute odds and ends. Later that night, we went food shopping for our final round of groceries before the trip, including all the ingredients needed to operate the Newsies Sisters Trail Mix Factory, opening Thursday evening. Sunday was a bit more relaxed, and a very lovely Mother's Day despite all the rain here in NJ. Mom was treated to a lovely breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, and hash browns, and a lovely-er dinner of prime rib, baked potatoes, and brussel sprouts. And we all sat together and watched TV all day, including American Idol, which we haven't watched in maybe 20 years but wanted to see the Tiana's Bayou Adventure opening day announcement.

By the way-- did anyone watch Idol? Who else was super underwhelmed by Seacrest rushing through the announcement before commercial break? Granted, Disney really botched this one, but given how they hyped it up that day. I thought we would at least get some type of video message from Josh D'Amaro or someone.

Let's put a pin in TBA -- I am very excited for this ride to open and very, VERY excited to ride it on my September trip!

Yesterday was fine, although my left earbud died on me while I was listening to music on my walk and I panic-bought a new set from Amazon. Tomorrow and Thursday are going to be very, very, very, very, long. In fact, today was very long. I can't believe it's only 6:45 in the evening??? Even dad was confused when we were planning out our dinners for the rest of the week and I had to remind him that today was Tuesday, not Wednesday like he thought it was. Here are my priorities for the rest of the week:

Tomorrow:

• One last load of laundry​
• Packing the rest of my suitcase​
• Charging my camera battery​
• Charging my second Fuelrod​

Thursday:

• Finish up work priorities while I'm in office
• Bring suitcase downstairs
• Charge and set-up new earbuds
• Pack Fuelrods and camera
• Open (and close) the Newsies Sisters Trail Mix Factory so we can make our world-famous batch of road trip trail mix!

Friday:

• Survive the morning at work!
• Finish packing overnight bag with my toiletries
• Nail/Eyebrow appointment
• Pack all my chargers
• Go to Disney World!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Your plans for your last few prep days sound great!

I agree that the last few days before a trip are stressful - there’s always 1,001 things to do. I actually feel more on top of our Disney trip than other recent trips as my excitement got my butt in gear early. I’ve already ordered our new clothes, purchased our park must-haves, and done my Target run(s). As long as I can get packing going a few days in advance I may find myself with nothing left to do the day before we leave!*

I hope you’re able to sleep (that’s the worst!) and get everything wrapped up with as little stress as possible. At least your nail appointment should allow for some R&R!

*If that’s the case, this alone may convince my husband to make more frequent Disney trips. I’m a last-minute packer and he is not - his anxiety will ratchet way down if we’re all set more than 12 hours in advance!

 

[Newsies]

Your plans for your last few prep days sound great!

I agree that the last few days before a trip are stressful - there’s always 1,001 things to do. I actually feel more on top of our Disney trip than other recent trips as my excitement got my butt in gear early. I’ve already ordered our new clothes, purchased our park must-haves, and done my Target run(s). As long as I can get packing going a few days in advance I may find myself with nothing left to do the day before we leave!*

I couldn't agree with you more! I kicked it into high gear today and finished up basically all of my packing -- just need to put away a few of my skincare products once I'm done using them Friday morning. You're completely right: now that I'm all packed, I feel a lot better and almost like there's nothing left for me to do!

I hope you’re able to sleep (that’s the worst!) and get everything wrapped up with as little stress as possible. At least your nail appointment should allow for some R&R!

Thank you! I had yet another productive day at work and finished up basically everything I had prioritized to get done before I left, and I have a fun day at work ahead of me tomorrow (company-wide event, all of my friends will be in the office) which will take my mind off of Disney, but now I need to focus on getting some sleep tonight!

*If that’s the case, this alone may convince my husband to make more frequent Disney trips. I’m a last-minute packer and he is not - his anxiety will ratchet way down if we’re all set more than 12 hours in advance!

YES! Exactly!!!