McSparklesons Bring Their OWN Fireworks... the WHOLE Family!

karajeboo

DISmom by land and by sea!
Joined
Mar 25, 2007
Seriously? Have we lost our ever lovin minds????

Uh, if you know the McSparklesons, you know that this is indeed the case!

You also know how much we LOVE WDW and DCL. And I'll fill you in on a little secret. Even though she never lived as close as we did to WDW, my sister, Kami, loves that mouse too and tries to get there as much as possible!!!!

So as my parents got tired of hearing Disney This and Disney That from me and my sister, they broke down one time and said, "we really need to try to get there."

See, my parents have not seen WDW since, well, EVER! What they saw was Magic Kingdom in 1981, and one or two things have changed since then. ;)

So Kami and I talked about it, and decided that our parents' 50th Anniversary would be a great time to take them to the Happiest Place on Earth!

While my parents were visiting me in Jacksonville, FL, over Christmas in 2009, Kami told me to go ahead and tell them what we were planning. Even though their anniversary fell in June, none of us wanted to deal with Florida heat in June. And Kami and I had both been to WDW in December before and felt it would perfect in all aspects for our parents - weather AND decor. Mom LOVES decorating for Christmas and I know she will LOVE WDW all lit up!

Our family....

The Original McSparklesons...... Kara and Ally (10)

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But we like to bring Daddy (Jeff) too.....

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Grandma and Ally

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Grandpa and Ally.... this was taken at IOA Universal and btw, Grandpa burped along with Homer. Nice.

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We told them of our plans to take them to WDW for their 50th Anniversary, and we had almost TWO FULL YEARS to wait! And then a few months later, we got transferred from Jacksonville, back to Greenville, SC. So we were losing our proximity to the World. We were all very glad to have this trip to look forward to!

There wasn't much to do at first, except count down the days, and believe me, there were a lot of days to count!!!! So we started tossing around some ideas. I came up with the idea of renting DVC points to bring down the cost of staying in a Deluxe Resort, because I really wanted Gma and Gpa to have the option of going back to the resort during the day to take a break if they want to. And a deluxe resort offers so much more to do, even if it's just grabbing a drink and people watching.

So Kami and I started thinking of resorts that we thought would appeal to our parents. Jeff and I were convinced that they would LOVE AKL. Kami didn't care for it when she stayed there, but it might be my favorite. And I thought Gma and Gpa would be amazed at the idea of an African Savannah right off their balcony!

After we got moved to SC last summer, I got to work. See, I'm a planner. I'm an obsessor. I'm an obsessive planner.

I made a notebook. I instructed Gma and Gpa to thoroughly go through notebook and let us know where they would like to stay. This book had photos and descriptions of every WDW resort, as well as photos and descriptions of every WDW table service restaurant! I included info on dining plan, renting points, etc.

Gpa kept saying, "whatever you decide will be fine."

But I didn't want to decide! Well, I did..... but this was THEIR anniversary gift so I wanted THEM to decide!

They finally came back with......

Boardwalk? :confused3 I never in a million years would have guessed this, although I'm THRILLED because the Epcot resorts are my favorite location!!!! Jeff and I honeymooned at BWI in 1998 so we love this resort!

I researched and found BWV points to rent that would only cost us $110/night Sunday - Thursday! Yes, you read that right. We will be staying at a deluxe resort for LESS than the cost of a moderate. I am beyond excited!!!! Each family will have their own room. No WAY was I sharing a room with these nuts that I call family!!!! Hey, I grew up in that house, doesn't mean I have to live with them on vacation!

And anyone that has ever traveled with extended family know..... there are bound to be some fireworks! I made this trip in 2008 with my in-laws. Whoo weee! The stories I have from that one! :rolleyes1

Sooooo....... Kami and her family will be leaving Friday, December 9 after school. I'm hoping they drive to my house in SC (we are right on the way!), and we can all caravan the next day to Orlando. Mom and Dad are coming in to my house probably on Thursday or Friday and we will leave early on Saturday, Dec 10 for the 8 1/2 hr drive. So we will be getting in mid-afternoon to check in.

Up next, Kami will hopefully post pics of her brood, DH (Todd) and children Emma (13) and Spencer (11).

And we'll give you the low down, down low, of our ADRs and lots more plans!

Furthermore, you will soon see why Mom and Dad always loved me more! ;)




 
I'm in! I'm bringing my brother, SIL, niece, nephew, and my SIL's mother in October. :) Hopefully I don't regret it! :lmao:

Jill in CO
 


subscribing

Now if I can just get Kami onboard! :confused:

joining in as well

You are a glutton for punishment, eh?

I'm in! I'm bringing my brother, SIL, niece, nephew, and my SIL's mother in October. :) Hopefully I don't regret it! :lmao:

Jill in CO

I've already done it once with the inlaws, but of course I'm saying, "no WAY will MY family be that bad!" :rotfl2:

Oh, boy....here we go....:goodvibes

You know it :thumbsup2girlfriend!

onboard...I love fireworks!!pixiedust:pixiedust:pixiedust:

Hopefully these won't explode on the ground like the ones at our friends house on 4th of July that resulted in 21 stitches to Jeff's lip....

But I digress....
 


The DH and I will be there there then as well, I'll give a shout out should our paths cross:goodvibes...loving the TRs btw, they are well written and very entertaining!
 
I have to say that this whole going with a group of relatives thing scares the bejeebers out of me. You're a brave gal and I can't wait to read all about it.
Sharon
 
You know I'm subbing for this one since I fully expect you WILL need that rita at the ditch while our stays overlap!
 
The DH and I will be there there then as well, I'll give a shout out should our paths cross:goodvibes...loving the TRs btw, they are well written and very entertaining!

Thanks Stink - can I call ya STink? After all, we go waaaaay back.... ;)

I have to say that this whole going with a group of relatives thing scares the bejeebers out of me. You're a brave gal and I can't wait to read all about it.
Sharon

I've done it before and I'm going back for more punishment!!! Just a different cast of characters!

I'm in - should be fun! :)

Hey Kristi! Aren't you doing the 8 night Magic out of NYC next year??? Ellen is trying to get us to do that same cruise in 2013 with them......

Subbing! Bet you thought that you wouldn't see me here!:rotfl:

Oh Mother of Wicket, I EXPECTED you here! :rotfl2:

You know I'm subbing for this one since I fully expect you WILL need that rita at the ditch while our stays overlap!

I will need your number before we go. I might just make myself an honorary member of the MEK party to escape my own.....

:thumbsup2Count me in! Your dad sounds kinda like mine, belching with Homer!

Brings a tear to my eye.... that man makes me so proud! :rolleyes1
 
I will need your number before we go. I might just make myself an honorary member of the MEK party to escape my own.....

We are eating at La Hacienda on Thursday December 15th, so I'm definitely hitting the ditch before dinner (and maybe after dinner:rolleyes1). Will definitely pm you closer to the date to see if we can meet up. Anxious to see how your park plans work out! I have been working on mine all weekend. Checking menus and such - need to do some tweaking of my ADRs, but can't any on line ressies at work due to an old internet explorer. :headache:
 
We are eating at La Hacienda on Thursday December 15th, so I'm definitely hitting the ditch before dinner (and maybe after dinner:rolleyes1). Will definitely pm you closer to the date to see if we can meet up. Anxious to see how your park plans work out! I have been working on mine all weekend. Checking menus and such - need to do some tweaking of my ADRs, but can't any on line ressies at work due to an old internet explorer. :headache:

We are at Epcot that morning, until about 2:30 or 3, then heading to DHS for dinner and Fantasmic. But I"m thinking I could maybe do a rita for lunch? :thumbsup2
 
We are at Epcot that morning, until about 2:30 or 3, then heading to DHS for dinner and Fantasmic. But I"m thinking I could maybe do a rita for lunch? :thumbsup2


Hmmmm - that's definitely a possibility. gotta do a little tweaking, but I'm good at that! :thumbsup2
 
I'm looking forward to this TR. We did this with my DH's family about 6 years ago. It was DH, DD (4 then) DSil, her husband and two daughters (6 and 8) at the time, DFil and DMil. We got through about 3 peaceful days then KABOOM! DH and DSil got into it and we spent the next 2 days at the same parks but walking around separately. When we did run into DSil she had some very choice sign language for DH (very classy at DW). Eventually they had run their 6 year old ragged and some sort of truce was called. We took DN and DD to our resort to rest and swim, and eventually the rest of the family followed. Every time we think of doing a trip together DH reminds it didn't work out well then so just imagine throwing some almost teen/pre-teen girls into it and it is a recipe for disaster. And he was right, we spent a long weekend with DSil and the two DN's about a month ago and it was the loooooooongest weekend :sad2:

Good luck on your trip-I can't wait to read all about it :)
 
Hmmmm - that's definitely a possibility. gotta do a little tweaking, but I'm good at that! :thumbsup2

Tweaking for a rita.... could be my new mantra....

I'm looking forward to this TR. We did this with my DH's family about 6 years ago. It was DH, DD (4 then) DSil, her husband and two daughters (6 and 8) at the time, DFil and DMil. We got through about 3 peaceful days then KABOOM! DH and DSil got into it and we spent the next 2 days at the same parks but walking around separately. When we did run into DSil she had some very choice sign language for DH (very classy at DW). Eventually they had run their 6 year old ragged and some sort of truce was called. We took DN and DD to our resort to rest and swim, and eventually the rest of the family followed. Every time we think of doing a trip together DH reminds it didn't work out well then so just imagine throwing some almost teen/pre-teen girls into it and it is a recipe for disaster. And he was right, we spent a long weekend with DSil and the two DN's about a month ago and it was the loooooooongest weekend :sad2:

Good luck on your trip-I can't wait to read all about it :)

Yeah, sounds about like the trip we did with Jeff's family 3 years ago. We all bit our tongues while we were there, but when we got home there were some choice words! It's a struggle when you get three different families together who all have different plans, different budgets, different aged kids, different attitudes, etc.....
 
Hi Kara. We go to Disney with my family every time. Sometimes one sister goes, other times both sisters, two nephews and my aunt and uncle go. As long as we split up when we aren't all on the same page, all is good. I can't imagine going with the in-laws. Sometimes it is harder to say no to things and that would ruin my vacation. Point being that maybe it being your own family, all will be well.:)
 

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