makewifehappy
04-26-2008, 08:09 PM
In 2006, our true obsession with Disney started. Oh sure, my wife and I honeymooned at Disneyworld in 1998 (we'll revisit this later), Disneyland in 2001, then Disneyworld again AND a Disney cruise in 2004. Up until this point, we wanted it to be just adults, because in 2004 our son was just 4 and our daughter was only eight months old. We really did not want to be the family that took our kids when they were too young.
So, in June of 2006, our kids experienced their first tasting of Disney with a 7 night Disney cruise. Thankfully, we were able to have one set of grandparents come along on this journey to our little piece of heaven to have some fun as well. DS fell in love with the water slide, kids clubs and being able to drink soda at every meal. DD loved the kids club, the characters especially the princesses (after a day or two), endless chocolate milk and swimming in the pool. Oh sure, I did end up tearing a muscle in my foot playing basketball on the top deck, but it happened on the next to the last day and wasn't a major issue, other than the fact that it made me feel like I was drugging and advil around all day long for the next month. Plus all the extra stuff my DW had to do- it made for an interesting end of a great trip. Thank god for the porters at the port- he sure did earn his tip. Not only did he help carry out the bags; he helped her load the car also.
You'd think after a moment like that I wouldn't want to step on Disney property again, but OH NO!!! You're not stopping me or this family from going back. So we waited a whole six months, and returned to Disney in December of 2006 for Disney at Christmas time. This was our kid’s first official trip to the Disney properties. Both their mom and I didn't know how things would work out. At this time, our son was old enough at six and a half years old (those half years always mean something to kids), but our daughter was only three, so we were a little concerned about taking her to Disney, even if it was for six days. It would be a test to see how quickly we would be able to come back. We kept this trip a surprise until we pulled onto the Disney property. DS had put two and two together and know we where going to Florida. We simply told them that we where going to visit Tia (DW BFF) and their cousins. By the time we arrived they where fast asleep, so we checked in, unpacked the car and then woke them up. DS was so disappointed because all he wanted to do was see the cousins and play video games with them. After telling them we where at WDW, they said, fine- where is the water slide?
My daughter is not one to shy away from the spotlight, and wasn't about to let the fact that she couldn't ride on many of the rides stop her. When she saw the Barnstormer kids roller coaster, and she found out she could ride it, she was in that line as quickly as her little legs could get her there, smiling and laughing. Later that night, as mom and dad watched Wishes, since both kids were asleep in a double stroller asleep, mom and dad realized that this was working out really well.
Then came that moment, when as a parent, you know you've got something good.
Tinkerbelle starts her flight across the sky.
The crowd goes 'Ooooooo' and 'Awwwwww'.
All of the sudden, my daughter wakes up, looks in the sky, and sees Tinkerbelle fly across the sky.
She yells, "My Tinkerbelle!!! My Tinkerbelle she really does fly"....
...and then immediately falls back asleep.
Yep, you've got to be a parent to understand, but it was at that moment that both mom and dad realized that our kids were going to be Disney maniacs as well. And when it's an eight hour drive between your house and Disneyworld, you know it's something to do at least once a year.
So, we made the decision to start working on another trip. Of course, when, where would we stay, and how long will we stay?
When? Well, as quickly as possible, but knowing that we had other obligations within the next year, and saving money over that time frame would also come into play, we decided June of 2006. My wife is a educator (or a teacher for those who aren't politically correct) and as with most educators, June and July are not normally spent in the classroom. So, we've got a time.
Where would we stay? My wife has done a lot of reading up on Disney. (The internet is an amazing resource for research for anything, but Al Gore didn't invent it) She's talked to others that have gone. She's read books. If they could implant a microchip in her brain that contains all things Disney, she's have it done tomorrow. But no matter what, it's helped us in saving money and making it a special trip. More on her later, but it was decided that we would stay at the All-Star Movies resort on the property. Sure, there are other great resorts on the property as well. We've talked about the Port Orleans and Coronado Springs, only because the rooms are slightly bigger, but then reality set in, 'How much time do you actually spend in the hotel room?' For shorter trips in the future, we probably will stay here, but for the amount of tim e we'll be staying there, and the amount of money we'll be spending, we'll go cheap on the hotel room and large on everything else. So, All-Star Movies, here we come!!!
How long will we stay? OK, now becomes the toughest question of all. So, mom is an educator and is out for the summer, which means she has the 'vacation time', although she are never on vacation, because the good educators spend summers working on professional development and lessons. That leaves me to determine how much time I will be able to take off from work. Now, by the time we go in June of 2008, I'll have been with the same company for 11 years, so over the years I've accrued the time off. I'm up to five weeks of vacation a year, but getting more than a week off is sometimes difficult. After a small lobbying session with my manager, two weeks was approved!!! So, after my wife gets out of school for the summer and I work another week of being on-call for our company, we'll begin our trip down to Disneyworld!! YEAY!!!
Now, I'm sure there are going to be many more questions that you have between now and then, and believe me, I'll be happy to answer all of those, but at this very moment, my wife and I are doing something so much more exciting then Disney. I'm sure the suspense is killing you, but there's nothing more exciting than sitting in your driveway with all of your personal belongings that you'll never use ever again, and watching people in cars drive by, realizing that they don't want your stuff either. That's right!!! It's called a yard sale!! Needless to say, we've had some good laughs watching people stare at our stuff from their cars and drive away. (What, our stuff ain't good enough for you, either?) and arguments between our kids as they fight over who's gets to play the Nintendo Wii right now. But hey, at least we have each other's company.
Ah, another loser drives up, staring at us, our stuff, and they just continue to drive by. Oh well, I guess a trip to Goodwill is in our future.
Future posts will include the cast of character's that will be going to Disney in June, a better understanding of what everyone does in life, more humor about garage sales, high gas prices, parents who don't understand Disney, those signs you don't want you your kids to see on I-75, how to get the kids to save money, are we there yet? and much more.
Next installment - And now, our starting line-up!!! Introducing our main characters... (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=24759971&posted=1#post24759971)
So, in June of 2006, our kids experienced their first tasting of Disney with a 7 night Disney cruise. Thankfully, we were able to have one set of grandparents come along on this journey to our little piece of heaven to have some fun as well. DS fell in love with the water slide, kids clubs and being able to drink soda at every meal. DD loved the kids club, the characters especially the princesses (after a day or two), endless chocolate milk and swimming in the pool. Oh sure, I did end up tearing a muscle in my foot playing basketball on the top deck, but it happened on the next to the last day and wasn't a major issue, other than the fact that it made me feel like I was drugging and advil around all day long for the next month. Plus all the extra stuff my DW had to do- it made for an interesting end of a great trip. Thank god for the porters at the port- he sure did earn his tip. Not only did he help carry out the bags; he helped her load the car also.
You'd think after a moment like that I wouldn't want to step on Disney property again, but OH NO!!! You're not stopping me or this family from going back. So we waited a whole six months, and returned to Disney in December of 2006 for Disney at Christmas time. This was our kid’s first official trip to the Disney properties. Both their mom and I didn't know how things would work out. At this time, our son was old enough at six and a half years old (those half years always mean something to kids), but our daughter was only three, so we were a little concerned about taking her to Disney, even if it was for six days. It would be a test to see how quickly we would be able to come back. We kept this trip a surprise until we pulled onto the Disney property. DS had put two and two together and know we where going to Florida. We simply told them that we where going to visit Tia (DW BFF) and their cousins. By the time we arrived they where fast asleep, so we checked in, unpacked the car and then woke them up. DS was so disappointed because all he wanted to do was see the cousins and play video games with them. After telling them we where at WDW, they said, fine- where is the water slide?
My daughter is not one to shy away from the spotlight, and wasn't about to let the fact that she couldn't ride on many of the rides stop her. When she saw the Barnstormer kids roller coaster, and she found out she could ride it, she was in that line as quickly as her little legs could get her there, smiling and laughing. Later that night, as mom and dad watched Wishes, since both kids were asleep in a double stroller asleep, mom and dad realized that this was working out really well.
Then came that moment, when as a parent, you know you've got something good.
Tinkerbelle starts her flight across the sky.
The crowd goes 'Ooooooo' and 'Awwwwww'.
All of the sudden, my daughter wakes up, looks in the sky, and sees Tinkerbelle fly across the sky.
She yells, "My Tinkerbelle!!! My Tinkerbelle she really does fly"....
...and then immediately falls back asleep.
Yep, you've got to be a parent to understand, but it was at that moment that both mom and dad realized that our kids were going to be Disney maniacs as well. And when it's an eight hour drive between your house and Disneyworld, you know it's something to do at least once a year.
So, we made the decision to start working on another trip. Of course, when, where would we stay, and how long will we stay?
When? Well, as quickly as possible, but knowing that we had other obligations within the next year, and saving money over that time frame would also come into play, we decided June of 2006. My wife is a educator (or a teacher for those who aren't politically correct) and as with most educators, June and July are not normally spent in the classroom. So, we've got a time.
Where would we stay? My wife has done a lot of reading up on Disney. (The internet is an amazing resource for research for anything, but Al Gore didn't invent it) She's talked to others that have gone. She's read books. If they could implant a microchip in her brain that contains all things Disney, she's have it done tomorrow. But no matter what, it's helped us in saving money and making it a special trip. More on her later, but it was decided that we would stay at the All-Star Movies resort on the property. Sure, there are other great resorts on the property as well. We've talked about the Port Orleans and Coronado Springs, only because the rooms are slightly bigger, but then reality set in, 'How much time do you actually spend in the hotel room?' For shorter trips in the future, we probably will stay here, but for the amount of tim e we'll be staying there, and the amount of money we'll be spending, we'll go cheap on the hotel room and large on everything else. So, All-Star Movies, here we come!!!
How long will we stay? OK, now becomes the toughest question of all. So, mom is an educator and is out for the summer, which means she has the 'vacation time', although she are never on vacation, because the good educators spend summers working on professional development and lessons. That leaves me to determine how much time I will be able to take off from work. Now, by the time we go in June of 2008, I'll have been with the same company for 11 years, so over the years I've accrued the time off. I'm up to five weeks of vacation a year, but getting more than a week off is sometimes difficult. After a small lobbying session with my manager, two weeks was approved!!! So, after my wife gets out of school for the summer and I work another week of being on-call for our company, we'll begin our trip down to Disneyworld!! YEAY!!!
Now, I'm sure there are going to be many more questions that you have between now and then, and believe me, I'll be happy to answer all of those, but at this very moment, my wife and I are doing something so much more exciting then Disney. I'm sure the suspense is killing you, but there's nothing more exciting than sitting in your driveway with all of your personal belongings that you'll never use ever again, and watching people in cars drive by, realizing that they don't want your stuff either. That's right!!! It's called a yard sale!! Needless to say, we've had some good laughs watching people stare at our stuff from their cars and drive away. (What, our stuff ain't good enough for you, either?) and arguments between our kids as they fight over who's gets to play the Nintendo Wii right now. But hey, at least we have each other's company.
Ah, another loser drives up, staring at us, our stuff, and they just continue to drive by. Oh well, I guess a trip to Goodwill is in our future.
Future posts will include the cast of character's that will be going to Disney in June, a better understanding of what everyone does in life, more humor about garage sales, high gas prices, parents who don't understand Disney, those signs you don't want you your kids to see on I-75, how to get the kids to save money, are we there yet? and much more.
Next installment - And now, our starting line-up!!! Introducing our main characters... (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=24759971&posted=1#post24759971)