Disney Trip Prep - Part I

So anyone who knows me, knows I am a planner.  I don't just need it in order to be organized - I love it.  It is a pass-time for me.  My absolute favourite things to plan are holiday get-togethers and trips.  I liken the process of fleshing out all the little details to getting into a really good book or snuggling way down in a big fluffy blanket.  I can get thoroughly absorbed by it, if I am not careful.
As you can imagine, our first family trip to Disney World has absolutely had this effect on me.  Upon getting the email from Aeroplan that our flights were booked, I started daydreaming about where we'd eat and what we'd do in the parks, where we'd stay and what little things I was going to do to make this trip special for everyone.  I've spent hours scouring the internet for everything from tips on saving money to Disney trip themed crafts.  I joined DISboards (an internet forum dedicated entirely to Disney parks) and have been learning everything I can about how to best tackle the parks during the holiday season (the busiest time of the year).  Needless to say, I have a lot of things floating around in my head (how to use FastPasses to our advantage, how to make sure Orin stays well-hydrated throughout the trip, how to feed the boy in a world laden with salt, how to announce the trip to the kids, whether or not to do things other than Disney while in Florida and do we even have time....the list goes on), so I am going to attempt to jot things down here as they are decided or being considered, so they are all in one place.
Overview
We are flying out of Halifax at 8:35am on Christmas morning and are arriving in Orlando around supper time.  We have stop-overs in Boston and Cleveland.  I have a bag of goodies planned to get us through the day of flying and the lengthy stop-overs.
We are staying at a hotel off-site called Maingate West Comfort Suites.  I chose this locale because they have fridges and microwaves in every room by default (unlike other places that only have fridges and often for a fee).  They also offer a free shuttle to the parks at scheduled intervals throughout the day.  The final plus (that will only affect us to a limited degree) is the free hot breakfast buffet....love me some make-your-own waffles.
We are staying for nine days.  Currently, I'm toying with whether to do exclusively Disney or to try to throw some other stuff in there to water down the Disnification and just for the opportunity to try something else.  There are pros and cons for both plans.  The jury is still out.  The decision has been made though that we will have at least one day of rest in the middle of the vacation.  On this day, I see us sleeping in (in-so-far as a 5- and nearly-3-year old will), lounging by the pool and in the games room at the resort and hitting the outlet mall up the road from our hotel.
To Do:

• Buy park tickets
• Book rental car (maybe)
• Speak to Special Diets at WDW about Orin's dietary needs
• Make dinner reservations (June 28th)
• Book shuttle from airport (if no rental car)
• Buy kids backpacks from LL Bean
• Buy a second backpack water reservoir
• Buy Child ID/Allergy Alert temp tattoos for the kids

The Little Things
I love making stuff.  I love doing stuff that makes my loved ones feel special and smile.  This is what fuels my cake-making.  This is what fuels my creativity in general.  For these reasons, I started thinking right away about what sorts of crafty stuff I could put together to really personalize this trip for us.  Here's what I've come up with so far (this part has been assisted IMMENSELY by the existence of Pinterest....I would never remember all of the cool stuff I found if it weren't so easy to just Pin it to my boards).

• Autograph books-inspired initially by this, but it has gone beyond the initial design now...wait until you see
• Travel Day shirts-like this, with "First Family Disney Trip in Disney font around Mickey's silhouette
• Team t-shirts-using this concept; the kids will be asked to draw a pic of their favourite Disney character.  This will be put on the front of the shirt and "Team Ourlastname" will be on the back....if I can think of something cute to put on Isabel's, I will put "waterboy" on the sleeve of Orin's because it is hilarious *lol*)

I have a couple of more things on the docket, but I am not going to let all my secrets out at once.

Working in Christmas
So this trip will be our Christmas gift to us and the kids.  That said, they are little and, Isabel at least, maybe disappointed to not have anything to unwrap.  I am going to fix this by using  a gift to announce the trip to the kiddies and by wrapping and giving the crafts (and some other nifty little things) over the course of the travel day. 

• The announcement will come Christmas Eve, I believe. The plan, at this point, has a large box showing up and being discovered by the kids. I am not going to reveal what will be in the box...you'll have to wait for the video for that part ;)
• While we are driving to the airport, I will give them each a gift that includes the travel day t-shirts, so we can change into them before we start flying.
• There will be a gift from Santa waiting in our room for each of them (because obviously Santa and I would have been in cahoots with regard to the trip). This will have their autograph books, a small container of pennies for the presses and fountaines and some glowy Disney stuff (for parades and fireworks)
• They will get the t-shirts with their own pictures on them the first morning we are heading to the parks so they can wear them then.

Any suggestions from the peanut gallery? Man I love this stuff...lol. Alright, I am heading to bed.