Disney Countdown Calendar

It makes it so much easier for children if they can visually see how many days until their holiday, and even better if they can see the number of days getting less.

I had seen quite a few countdown calendar ideas on Pinterest, and this is one I thought I would base mine on.

But once I got started, I couldn't get Mickey's ears look right. So I modified it and came up with a different way of doing this.

So here is one of the calendars I made (each of my girls got their own)...

I won't tell you exactly how to make this as it is easy to work just by looking at it, but here are some points...

• I started by cutting strips of light weight card stock. They measured 1" by 6". The loops for Mickey's ears were 1" by 3".
• I used a standard hole punch to make the buttons for Mickey's pants, these were glued on the red strips.
• All other assembling was done with double sided tape.
• Each link represents one day, I have seen some where each seperate Mickey represents one day, but since I made this 50 days prior to our trip it would have been far too long.
• Each link (apart from black ones) have the date written on the inside so that the kids can confirm they are removing the correct link.
• The sign at the top was printed using the Walt Disney font which can be found free online.
• This was layered with the red and yellow card and I used pinking shears to cut each layer slightly larger than the previous one.
• The black card stock was folded into a fan and double sided tape was used to attach.

It is very exciting to see the links disappear each day, they started with 50 links and today they only have 16 links left.

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Our Holiday Plans

I had to get our plans off the peice of paper they were scrawled on and actually written out so we can understand them...

This plan will be edited as we get closer to our trip, and also while we are away.

Friday April 11

Fly from Christchurch to Los Angeles via Auckland overnight.

Pick up rental car at LAX, drive to our vacation rental in Anaheim.

Unpack and go to the grocery store to buy some supplies.

Dinner at Downton Disney (or in Disneyland)

Maybe go to Disneyland in the evening.

Saturday April 12

The plan was to use our Magic Morning at Disneyland (this lets us in 1 hour before regular park opening) at 7am, but when Disneyland released their schedule it looks like Magic Morning isn't available that day. But we will still be there for 8am opening.

Spend full day at Disneyland (DL) and Disney California Adventure (DCA), although since DL is open until midnight I don't think we will last ALL day.

Sunday April 13

Spend morning in parks, then outlet shopping in afternoon.

Monday April 14

Spend day in parks.

Dinner at Goofy's Kitchen at the Disneyland Hotel. 

Tuesday April 15

Head into Los Angeles for the day, go to Hollywood (Hollywood and Highland), have dinner.  Dale, Wendy and their kids are going to a basketball game at the Staples Centre, we will head back to Anaheim after dinner, maybe go back to the parks for the fireworks.

Wednesday April 16 - Sunday April 20

Over the next days we will visit both DL, and DCA, do lots of shopping, go to Knott's Berry Farm, Universal Studios (maybe), Griffith Park and more shopping!

Wednesday breakfast at Surf's Up Breakfast (with Mickey) at the Paradise Pier Hotel.

Monday April 21

Pack up and drive to Las Vegas

We are staying at Signature at the MGM Grand, which is made up of three high rise towers behind the MGM Grand hotel and casino.

We have tickets to Cirque du Soleil LOVE for that night.

Tuesday April 22

Helicopter tour from Las Vegas to Grand Canyon and return.

Spend afternoon exploring the different attractions on the strip (free shows in hotels, shopping, people watching) or tryng out the hotel swimming pools.

Wednesday April 23

Drive out to the Hoover dam

Spend afternoon the same way as Tuesday afternoon.

Thursday April 24

Return rental car to Las Vegas airport

Midday flight to San Francisco

We are relying on public transport or probably taxi, to get to our vacation rental near Golden Gate Park.

Friday April 25

Catch trolley to get to the Pier.

10.30am boat to Alcatraz, spend as much time in Alcatraz as we like and then catch a boat back.

Until Sunday April 27

In San Francisco, plans include cycling over Golden Gate Bridge, riding cable cars and going to China Town.

Pick up rental car Sunday night.

Monday April 28

Leave San Francisco early, drive down Highway 101 stopping in Monterey or Carmel for brunch. Travel on to Santa Barbara stopping when we want to but we do have to travel quite a long way to get to Santa Barbara.

Tuesday April 29

Spend morning in Santa Barbara, maybe do the red trolley tour.

Drive to San Diego.

Possibly stop at Camarillo outlet mall between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles (one of the largest outlet malls in California)

Wednesday April 30

Go to Seaworld.

Thursday May 1

Maybe San Diego zoo or USS Midway

We also HAVE to go to IKEA to fill up any spaces in our suitcases (there is one close to our hotel in Hotel Circle)

Friday May 2

We have a late flight from Los Angeles back home, we will probably leave San Diego after checking out of our hotel and spend the afternoon in Los Angeles.

Return rental car and check in for our flight home via Auckland.

Sunday May 4 (May the forth be with you LOL)

Arrive home!

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The Book

This is the book that we made and gave to the kids when we told them about our trip. They love looking at these...

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Surprise...

When we first talked about going to Disneyland back in 2012, Wendy and I both agreed that we shouldn't tell the kids. The plan was that whenever we went we would surprise the kids together.

But not long after starting the actual planning of our trip, Wendy actually told Luke and Mitchell. Melissa and Hannah still had no clue, so we decided to tell them when we away together in Twizel in January.

Friday morning 11 January, we cooked a special breakfast, and told the girls they should put on their Disney pajamas that they already had, Wendy also put her Minnie Mouse t-shirt on.

During breakfast Nick started asking the girls where they think we should go for our next holiday, I think we were hoping they would say Australia as this is what they had been suggesting for a few months, but the first thing out if Melissa's mouth was DISNEYLAND.
It took a few seconds for it to sink in when we confirmed that this is exactly where we are going to go...

As you can see by he look on Hannah's face, she hadn't comprehended what was said, but after breakfast she looked a lot more excited...

We then gave them new t-shirts...

And buttons that I had made for their necklaces (the necklaces are from Two Lyttel Buttons and I had her custom make the Disneyland buttons) ...

And lastly we gave them a book each that I had made and Wendy had printed, telling them all about the holiday, I will put that in the next post.

90 days to go...

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So what does 293 have to do with anything

Back in October 2012 we were in Port Douglas, Australia, with Nick's sister Wendy and her family. This was our second year in a row having a holiday together in Australia.

 

One night back in our villa, we starting discussing where we would go next year. One of us, not sure who, but probably either Wendy or I, suggested going to Disneyland!

Wow, we started talking a mile a minute while I think the husbands sat there thinking we were mad. We talked about how we would probably have to skip a year and go sometime in 2014.

Life continued on, we had major upheavals, with having to move out of home for six weeks to have earthquake repairs done, and Wendy and her family also moved houses.

Then in June last year I received the following message from Wendy...

 

So it was all on, that marked 293 days until we leave for the USA!

 

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