The Time I Planned a Little Trip to Disney

Last year, birthdays got a little crazy around here. It was easy to throw big do's when there was one. Reid's 1st and 2nd were easy peasy. Last year, though, I had Reid's 3rd and Helena's 1st within 2 weeks of each other. A beating. A fun beating, but a beating nonetheless. So much so that I told Meg no more fall babies. She honored that request by telling me 2 weeks after Helena's birthday that we would have a summer baby the next year. Be careful what you ask for.

Anyway, no more big parties except for the first (Clark, you can rest easy). Instead, small family get togethers except for the "big" years. What about instead, I thought, a little trip? Reid loves to travel so maybe I could take him to Disneyland. I fly space available and have access to a hotel employee discount, so why not? Meg was agreeable, to a certain extent. Maybe Papaw could get off and go, too. It happened. Well, if Papaw was going, why not bring Helena? We could schedule it around her 2nd birthday, but a little before, and she'd be free...

I think this was the tipping point. Meg said Helena could go, but was sad that she was going to miss seeing the excitement on their faces when they met Mickey, et al. I told her if they could scrape together the moola and Eddie could get off, why not join us. Then B got wind of the fun and he and his girlfriend (now fiancee) wanted to be a part of it. Now nine people will be a part of my "little" trip to Disney and, just like the birthday parties, I've lost control. A spiraling frenzy of sewing, crafting and planning, which is my trademark to anything that needs a plan, has overtaken the Honeysuckle House. 

Because our budget is tight, we had to work some magic.

The plan: 
9 people, only one buying an actual ticket. The rest on stand by, buddy passes or frequent flyer. This will require 2 days, 2  departure airports, 2 airlines and 4 different flights. 

Hotel, 2 rooms that also include breakfast (have you met my SIL and husband? This will save us hundreds) and an airport shuttle for arrival and departure (no need for cabs or transfers) for the nights in LA. For 3 days, a hotel across the street from Disneyland that includes free parking, breakfast and has a fridge. We can walk back over to eat and take naps during the day.We got a great discount because we paid for it last summer and it was nonrefundable. Scary, but worth it.

A 12 passenger van so luggage and 3 car seats will fit. Did you know it's cheaper to get a small van from a van rental place than a regular van at a car rental place? Now you do.

Disney 3 day park hopper - 6 military passes for the adults (relatively CHEAP) and a military discount for Reid. The other 2 kids are free.

Other things deemed necessary by me:

Autograph books for the kids. Nothing big and I wanted them to be personal, so I made them with Disney Little Golden Books. I designed the paper on PS and just printed it at home on card stock. I took the books apart, trimmed down the pages and glued the new ones in. I was careful not to tear the gold tape on the spine.


Last summer, I upholstered a cushion for Meg's patio. We've discussed before how I am a fabric hoarder and, true to form, I had put back the scraps from that project "just in case". I couldn't think of a good reason to keep them, though, so I almost threw it out. I had a change of heart as I went to the trash can a few months ago and shoved the bag in the closet. Lucky I did, too. Bags for the girls! Something to hold our stuff but not be bothered with purses. Bonus points, also autograph-able.

Scraps of drop cloth, a yard of fabric, vintage buttons and old fireman suspenders.

Oh, and coordinating outfits...for everyone...everyday.  And Disney jammies for the kids.

The jammies are just t-shirts that I found on sale at Joann. I bought each one a different one in large. Reid will just wear his as a sleep shirt. I made Clark's into a romper and cut Helena's into a gown. They are the kind the kids can color, but Meg forbade me from letting the kids color them or even coloring them myself. They would bleed in the wash, blah, blah, blah. (Note: this has happened to her before) Party pooper.

Flight day outfits are only for the kids and since Helena won't be flying with the boys, they didn't have to match. The kids will be celebrating their birthdays there, so I wanted Reid to have a shirt with a 4 on it. I had lots of shirts monogrammed so I used one for this. Clark's has just his name and the ears on it. I made Helena a dress that used just about every polka dot I could find and lots of giant rick rack. It's hard to get away with that unless you have a reason.

B said Reid's Disney font "4" looks like a Satanic symbol. Thanks for ruining that from me, bud.

Day one at Disney. I started the smocking on Helena's dress in May. I'm slow. I found the retro Disney comic fabric and used that to tie the outfits together. The buttons on the dress are covered in it, the boys have chambray with appliques and the adults have reverse appliqued Mickeys.

A closeup of Reid's shirt.

Day 2. I saw the Minnie and Mickey backs on Pinterest and knew it had to happen. A talented friend, Amy, sketched the backs of all the Disney characters and I cut them out and apart to make templates. I cut out the fabric, ironed it on the back of the shirts with fusible webbing and then appliqued them. A friend of Meg's, Jillian, did all the monogramming for me. If you need someone to do that kind of work for you, give me a call and I'll hook you up. I wasn't sure how big Clark would be by now, so instead of a shirt, I made a large romper with a man's large t-shirt. 

Kenny and I are Mickey and Minnie.

B and KC are Goofy and Clarabelle.

For Meg, Eddie and the kids. How could they not be Donald, Daisy, Huey, Dewey and Louie?

The front of the shirt has each person's name monogrammed.

Day 3. Helena's birthday party day,  I wanted her to have a really special dress. This dress just about caused me to pull my hair out, but I LOVE it! I did the boys's in black and white seersucker and inset the appliqued Mickey trio (again, done by Jillian) into the outfits.

I wanted the adults to coordinate, but felt like I was pushing it with another appliqued shirt. Instead, I saw this stuff call Dye Magnet and decided to dye the shirts. Using the 3 Mickeys, I designed a layout on PS, printed it on freezer paper and used the cutout for a template. I "stenciled" the Mickeys with the Dye Magnet and then dyed the shirts with black. The magnet holds more dye so the stenciled parts come out darker. Cool, huh?


To protect all this fantastic-ness from Clark's continuous flow of spit, I've made a few bibs to match the outfits. 

Jillian made and appliqued a precious bow to go with one outfit and I made a few more (only one for each day, no need to go overboard). She, of course, also needed socks to match. My favorites are the vintage button Minnies. 

The socks. Oh, my heart hurts.

See the cute Mickey appliqued on the bow?

Rag roses on the clip with ruffled socks and some rick rack trimmed socks to go with her Huey shirt.

All packed away in ziplocs according to the day on which they will be worn.

We leave Saturday, so it remains to be seen if we all actually get to Disney in them. Clark is a big spitter and can also blow out an outfit in the blink of an eye. The adults...that's a maybe, too. They SAY they will wear them, but we will see. More to come.