Party of 5's First family trip to WDW! Just back from POR 6/16 *update 8/13 thoughts

[ampc3]

**6/17 Just back to skip the PTR, go to page 10 post #141***





Well I have finally found the courage to try and write my own PTR. I have just loved the Dis for some time now and always enjoy others TR. So here goes my try at one! Please be kind, since I am winging this whole thing.

First I have to do a shout out to a few who have given me the courage to go for it! Thank you to Lesley of timandlesley, Jenn of Megansmom and Nichole of kays mommie . I have really enjoyed reading all of your Trs past and present!

Right now we are at 24 DAYS and counting!!!!

Here is the crew from “party of 5”

Me- stay at home mom, lover of Disney and planner of the family! I don’t do well with change and have really high expectations of things which then tend to disappoint me. I am working on that one. I can be a bit sarcastic to those that know me ,. My DH sarcasm has definitely rubbed off on me over the years. I grew up going to Disney many times as a kid, and a few as an adult. Last trip was a commando style day at MK with the older kids in 2005 for one night.

DH-”R” aka “grumpy”- doesn’t get the dis at all, really doesn’t care one way or the other about Disney. So NOT a planner, invented sarcasm. Trying to “prepare” me that things might not go as “planned” on our trip.He can be a bit paranoid sometimes. This will be his 5th trip.

DD-9- Lauren typical first born child. She has reached that “tween” stage with a lot of attitude these days. She is obsessed right now with Tink HSM, and Hannah Montanna .Also loves to read and has a love hate relationship with her brother. She is not overly sensitive. She has been one time, one day commando style to Mk back in 2005.

DS-7- Joey typical middle child, but he is the sweetest little boy and very sensitive. He can be a bit of a crier at times but doesn’t have a mean bone in his body (unless of course trying to get back at sisters). He is very inquisitive and wants to know the hows and whys of everything, he has a very old soul.. Looks up to his big sister. Also been one time, one day back in 05.

DD-4- Emma She is our little wildcard! She is the best and worst of all of us. She has her daddy wrapped around her finger, actually most adults for that matter. She has the most beautiful eyes. She can be sassy(tips from her older sister I'm sure) but oh soo sweet and such a love bug! According to her preschool teachers it is very obvious she has older siblings. She has never been to WDW before.. She is most excited to see Mickey and meet the princesses.

I should also mention that my kids are usually somewhat uncooperative when it comes to taking their pictures together or as a family. I am usually a raving lunatic screaming to smile or else. . And “E” is just a crap chute all together if she will even look towards the camera.

I went thru my pictures and realized I really have nothing good of them together that is recent . So the one of the 3 of them is from 2007.. I think it’s time for a nice WDW picture!!

Well I hope to have a few readers and that you'll enjoy it!
I'll be back with the "How it all began" story of our trip later.

 

[ampc3]

Hi again..

Well sometimes you have to go backwards to go forward, so let me start by giving a little background info on "how it all began"

In the end of 2004 I received one of those cute little postcards, that have the pin on the back that was a discount for WDW. So I called to find out what it was all about exactly. I have been dreaming of the day when we would take our kids to disney

But my hubby always thought the kids needed to be "older" to appreciate it and blah, blah, blah... My youngest was just over a year at the time, so I knew we wouldn't be going with her anytime soon. My mom lives in florida and we used to always go visit in February. So I thought this would be prefect we will go there, like we always do, leave the little one with her, and take the older kids to disney..

We decided to stay for 2nights b/c it was still about a 4hour drive from my moms, and go to the magic kingdom for one day

Hey at this point, getting my hubby to agree to this was sortof a miracle in itself so I would have agreed to ANY amount of time there!

So we decided to go in Feb of 05, and that is when I discovered the Dis and all the little extras that go with it I planned the best I could on such short notice, I didn't stress to much b/c it was only one day. I pretty much knew we would do commando style b/c I had no idea WHEN we would ever get back!

We stayed at ASMu in the dalmation section.. the kids where newly 6 and almost 4.. perfect age... Honestly I missed my little one, but couldn't imagine going with someone that young, and I knew she was in good hands with grandma who was in heaven to have her to herself!

So we got there at rope drop and stayed all day... the kids did great, they fell asleep right after wishes (which we really didn't get to see b/c of the crowds and not really having any clue) it was an amazing day and I could not WAIT for the time we would return with my whole family

so after we returned I was obssessed with the Dis and reading everyone else's TR and living thru them . I was determined to make this trip happen sooner than later, however I did agree (don't tell him tho)with hubby that I wanted to wait until our little one was older..

So fast forward to 2006 when I found out about free dining! What , what is THAT all about?? My kids always got a fall break in september that would work perfectly with those dates... I started planning, and planning and planning...joined TGM and did more planning. Well even with free dining it just sadly wasn't in our budget, being a stay at home mom with 3 kids has it's perks, but also has it's cons and money is one of them
so I realized that we would have to push it back another year, and we would definitly go during the fall break of 2007! Let's hope for free dining again, and that would just be so awsome!!!

So did we get Free dining or did something else come up again??

 

[MegansMom]

YEAH!!! YOU DID IT!! I am so glad you did!!! Above was a BIG hello from all the smiley guys!! They are so happy for you too!!!

Great pictures--you guys are a great looking family! The kids are too cute!

You have me hook, line, and sinker---you KNOW I will be along for the ride!

Thanks so much for the shout out!! I think we all have been prompted and inspired to do this from someone else--for me, it also was Lesley--HEY LESLEY!--and I am so glad I did it!! It has been so fun to write, and a blessing to help stay organized!!

I put the instructions on my PTR for you about setting up the link in your siggie--hope it helps!

I know we overlap a bit on our trips, and I keep thinking, there are so many of us that I "know" from here that will be there at the same time, so we are BOUND to run into each other!!! Won't our hubbies look at us so funny when we stop each other to say "hi!" REMEMBER--please stop me if you see me--I will do the same too!

Great start---can't wait to see how it all ended up!

 

[ampc3]

Thanks Jenn, for being my first reader I knew I could count on you! Thanks again for all your help in getting me set up and started
Glad you are along for the ride so to speak!

 

[ampc3]

Thank you to those that are reading this!

Ok, where did I leave off.. oh yes, the Free Dining promo!

I need to do alittle flashback here as well.. (We had been talking about moving out of our neighborhood to get in a better school district etc...)

So I had booked the trip for Sep 2007 in the beggining of 07 (keeping fingers crossed about Free dining) We booked POR and did base day tickets for 6 days.. I figured we really didn't need hoppers b/c the park hours just aren't as long at the time of year..then Free dining came out!! All was set this was so cool to be getting free dining and finally getting to take the family to disney I booked all my ADR's as soon as I could, got everything I wanted...

So during all of this, we decided after alot of thinking, that we REALLY needed to try and sell our house. We had NO IDEA how long this whole process could take if we could even sell it at all. So the spring of 07 we listed our house, said ALOT of prayers to St. Joseph and guess what??


We had an offer and contract on our house in ONE WEEK!!!!

But wait, we didnt' have ANY idea where we were actually relocating too (minor problem I'd say) we'll we did have some ideas, I had been doing a TON of research on line for schools and communities etc. We did have a general idea to the area, we had decided to move about an hour north west of where we were at.. Long story short we ended up finding a great house in a wonderful neighborhood with great schools!

Now during all this moving, at some point it occured to me that it would probably be unrealistic to still think we where going to disney in the fall afterall I was still hoping, but then when I found out our new school district doesn't do the fall break in September, that was the deal breaker for my hubby. He is really against taking the kids out of school, and that is one battle I just can't seem to win, lord knows I tried!

So I had to call and cancel everything it sooo broke my heart!

Well since I knew I could forgot about the Free dining program working for us, and I knew my hubby wouldn't go for them missing school. It didn't leave a whole alot of choices to pick from.... So I guess it will be summer 08!

I Knew I wanted to try and go in June for a few reasons, so we where looking at the week of June 8.

Now something really good did come from all this....

 

[pooh'smate]

Great start on your pretrip report so far. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[ampc3]

thanks Pooh'smate for coming along!!

 

[ampc3]

So I guess having to postpone our trip , wasn’t such a bad thing after all. Why, you ask??

Well I was able to get a room only discount thru my hubby’s job! However, the bad part is that b/c it is considered a room only rate, we are unable to add the dining package to it. But we still saved over $600 off the room!! Now the interesting part will be when this is all said and done if we did end up saving any money? We like to go out to eat when we are on vacation, b/c at home that hardly ever happens.

So where did we book????


Although my dream would be to stay at the Poly or the Beach club, we choose POR
Mainly b/c we couldn’t afford a deluxe and it was cheaper to do POR than 2 rooms or the family suit at a value…plus I had stayed there when it was Dixielandings and thought it was neat.

So POR for 8 nights!!! Again since we aren’t on a package, I got our tickets thru undercover tourist thru the mouse savers link. We ended up getting hoppers b/c I figured with the later hours and how hot I expect it to be we will be taking afternoon breaks and going back in the pm, some days we will hop some we won’t.. This too will be interesting to see if we use our hoppers more than 2x??

We only got 7 day passes , I figured on our travel days we wouldn’t be going to the park anyway.

So YEAH!! Got everything booked and taken care before the end of the year, waiting patiently for December to get here to make our ADR’s!!!

Now I have to say, that I did get a little carried away making the ADR’s and kept forgetting that “oh , that’s right we aren’t on the DDP” I was hoping my hubby wouldn’t figure it out…

Ok back to reality, we do have to PAY for all these meals ya know!

Once TGM came out with his dates, I called and got everything I wanted!!
I even doubled booked (sshhh don’t tell anyone ) I surprisingly didn’t change that much around being so far away and all. Once I figured out where we were going to eat I canceled all those double bookings I promise!

Now thru out this whole time I kept asking DH, if he was SURE he wanted to go in the summer time?

If he was sure the kids couldn’t miss school? ( I know can’t blame a girl for trying) b/c it was going to cost us so much more $$$ to go in the summer.. Thru out this whole process I was like, oh guess what Disney did today? They raised the rate on the rooms for week day and weekend rates… oh guess what Disney did today? They raised the prices on almost all the restaurants and made the ENTIRE month of JUNE a HOLIDAY period with a surcharge!! Oh guess what Disney did today? They raised the cost of the stroller!
Oh guess what Disney did today?? They are closing POTC when we will be there!! WHAT… that was really his only response thus far and a lot of head shaking!

Ok so June it is!!!! Fingers crossed for no early hurricanes or out of control wild fires…. Did I happen to mention that I don’t have very good luck??

I had soo much fun trying to figure out where to eat, and what we would want to eat. I looked over and over the menus on allears… calculating costs etc, asking the kids what characters they wanted to see. Tried to get Hubby involved but he just looked at me like I was from another planet when I asked him where he wanted to eat in 6months? So onward I planned with out his help (I really don’t want his input if it is different from mine anyway hehe)

So after I made all our ADR’s and made him sit and look at them with me! Guess what he did?

 

[Hayloburger]

i'm on board with you....what'd he do? what'd he do?? tell us!

 

[MegansMom]

This is going great!!! So happy for you for your discount!! I know it would be hard to go back to paying for the meals without DDP--I applaud your valiant work on planning all those meals within cost perimeters!! WAY TO GO!

Okay-------I'm guessing that he COMPLAINED about not getting to eat where he wants to eat even though he didn't want to help plan! AM I RIGHT? AM I RIGHT?

 

[hurleysweety]

Oh I just love the non-planner significant others and the looks they give you when you ask if they would like Italian food such as spaghetti or a bowl of clam chowder, two months from today at MK.... (Yes, I speak from experience. The look is priceless.)

 

[DisneyVeteran]

Enjoying reading your pre-trip report so far!

We are going to be there the same time and staying at SSR. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[ampc3]

Enjoying reading your pre-trip report so far!

We are going to be there the same time and staying at SSR. Hope you have a great trip!

Thanks for joining.. working on next update

Cool about being there at the same time.. I think we all need a Dis Meet for sure! There seems to be so many of us going at that time

 

[ampc3]

Oh I just love the non-planner significant others and the looks they give you when you ask if they would like Italian food such as spaghetti or a bowl of clam chowder, two months from today at MK.... (Yes, I speak from experience. The look is priceless.)

Yep , that is a priceless look!!

This is going great!!! So happy for you for your discount!! I know it would be hard to go back to paying for the meals without DDP--I applaud your valiant work on planning all those meals within cost perimeters!! WAY TO GO!

Okay-------I'm guessing that he COMPLAINED about not getting to eat where he wants to eat even though he didn't want to help plan! AM I RIGHT? AM I RIGHT?

Yea, it was hard to keep reminding myself that we aren't on the DDP , Your getting warmer!!
Stay tuned... My mom is coming later today for a visit, so don't know how much more I'll get done right now.

Thanks sooo much Jenn, once again for helping me!!!

Also thank you to whoever is reading this! (who hasn't posted)

 

[ampc3]

i'm on board with you....what'd he do? what'd he do?? tell us!

Welcome to the Dis thanks for coming along

 

[nts4wdw]

Your family is precious!!

We will be there at the same time, too. That making June a holiday is killing us , but it just causes too much stress to take the children out of school. It was easier when they were younger.

Looking forward to more! You are doing great!

 

[kaysmommie]

I'm here, found your link on my trippie. Love what you wrote so far. Is your DH is a long lost brother to my DH. My DH gets so annoyed with all my planning and the spending too . You know how it is when your a SAHM. You have a beautiful family. Your trip will finally be here soon and I can't wait to hear all about it. Can't wait to hear what your DH did .

 

[ampc3]

Your family is precious!!

We will be there at the same time, too. That making June a holiday is killing us , but it just causes too much stress to take the children out of school. It was easier when they were younger.

Looking forward to more! You are doing great!

Thanks for the kind words, Cool another Diser that will be there at the same time! There are soo many of us going at the same time it seems.

I'm here, found your link on my trippie. Love what you wrote so far. Is your DH is a long lost brother to my DH. My DH gets so annoyed with all my planning and the spending too . You know how it is when your a SAHM. You have a beautiful family. Your trip will finally be here soon and I can't wait to hear all about it. Can't wait to hear what your DH did .

Thank you for the comment on my family, I guess I'll keep them
Yes maybe they are long lost cousins or something! I was always cracking up reading your trippie when you would talk about your hubbie too
Thanks again for joining

 

[Charleston Princess]

Hurray! You started a pre-trippie!

Are you as excited as we are??? I just keep thinking things like -- in three weeks we will be checking into POFQ!

Your children are too cute for words!

 

[ampc3]

Hurray! You started a pre-trippie!

Are you as excited as we are??? I just keep thinking things like -- in three weeks we will be checking into POFQ!

Your children are too cute for words!

Thanks for checking us out yes we are sooo excited Infact first thing this morning I was like 3 weeks today we will be at disney!!! but then my hubby was quick to say yeah, but in 4 weeks we'll be back home

Can't wait to read more on your trippie too