HermanTriplets+1
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2009
SIX members of the Herman Family
FIVE nights on DCL's Magic
FOUR teenagers
THREE countries: Israel-USA-Canada
TWO official adults/parents
ONE amazing ship and cruise line!
Well, I guess I have decided to do a PTR after all! It might seem early, but if I have learned anything here, it's that it's never too early to plan, and never too early to get excited! I have been so enriched by my DIS life, that I think I "need to" write this! I'm not sure what my "style" will be; I guess it will show itself as I write. So let's start! I joined the DIS in August 2009, about 6 months before our first trip to WDW (well, my second, but since the first was in the mid 1970s, I think I can count it as my first trip, too!). We are a family of six (as you now know),
not including our feline furbabies, JJ (mine, a.k.a Handsome Boy) and Gloria (DH's, a.k.a Princess).
We built our family in bursts, so to speak, triplets (now DD14, DS14 and DD14) and then 2 years later a younger brother (now DS12). End of family expansion project! The kids were all born in NY, where we lived for 6 years. I was born and raised in the NY/NJ area, but DH is Israeli. We moved "back" to Israel when the kids were all in diapers. That was in 1999. We've lived here since, surrounded by lots of wonderful family (DH's) and unfortunately far from lots of other wonderful family (mostly mine). I work full time outside of the house, as does DH. The kids are busy with all their activities and that keeps us running, too. Luckily we are full partners in parenting and somehow it all works out.
Our first trip to WDW was in honor of the triplets' 13th birthday (a significant birthday for us).
It was simply THE BEST family vacation we have ever had! Are you surprised?? Over the years our entire vacation budget has gone to visiting the family in the States. With a lot of planning, we decided in 2010 that this time we would also have a "real vacation". We flew to NJ to visit my parents, then to Orlando: 5 nights with free Disney Dining Plan, in a family suite at the All Star Music Resort. Did I say... BEST VACATION EVER!!! On the Magical Express bus on the way back to the airport, the kids were watching the sales pitch on the video - and the seed was planted. A DISNEY CRUISE! They immediately figured out that if they'd had WDW for their 13th birthday, in 2 years it would be the younger brother's birthday and we could do DCL for his celebration! Seed planted. Seed germinated. Here we are!
Followed the itineraries for 2012 -- no Med or TA (too much $$ anyway, and hey it's only our first cruise), but .... NYC!! A sign from above! And yes, I do believe in such signs, especially when they involve Disney! NYC 8 night to the Bahamas - too hot in August, again too expensive (though that day at WDW is really attractive). NY 2 night - too short. NY-Canada 5 night - JUST RIGHT!! Had to spin it a bit for the kids, "why do we want to go to Canada?", but it made the cut and we booked it.
We've got some privacy needs in the family, so I'll explain upfront that we'll be brief on current family pics and other "embarrassing" personal details. But there is so much to tell -- I think I can do this without crossing any of those fuzzy lines.
Future installments:
Picking the dates for our cruise
What kind of cabin? Where? Will it be available? Will our choice matter in the end?
Food issues to anticipate
Wardrobe issues to anticipate
Character interactions, getting ready...
Birthdays one, two or three?
Port day planning
Packing thoughts
Thanks for jumping onboard!
FIVE nights on DCL's Magic
FOUR teenagers
THREE countries: Israel-USA-Canada
TWO official adults/parents
ONE amazing ship and cruise line!
Well, I guess I have decided to do a PTR after all! It might seem early, but if I have learned anything here, it's that it's never too early to plan, and never too early to get excited! I have been so enriched by my DIS life, that I think I "need to" write this! I'm not sure what my "style" will be; I guess it will show itself as I write. So let's start! I joined the DIS in August 2009, about 6 months before our first trip to WDW (well, my second, but since the first was in the mid 1970s, I think I can count it as my first trip, too!). We are a family of six (as you now know),
not including our feline furbabies, JJ (mine, a.k.a Handsome Boy) and Gloria (DH's, a.k.a Princess).
We built our family in bursts, so to speak, triplets (now DD14, DS14 and DD14) and then 2 years later a younger brother (now DS12). End of family expansion project! The kids were all born in NY, where we lived for 6 years. I was born and raised in the NY/NJ area, but DH is Israeli. We moved "back" to Israel when the kids were all in diapers. That was in 1999. We've lived here since, surrounded by lots of wonderful family (DH's) and unfortunately far from lots of other wonderful family (mostly mine). I work full time outside of the house, as does DH. The kids are busy with all their activities and that keeps us running, too. Luckily we are full partners in parenting and somehow it all works out.
Our first trip to WDW was in honor of the triplets' 13th birthday (a significant birthday for us).
It was simply THE BEST family vacation we have ever had! Are you surprised?? Over the years our entire vacation budget has gone to visiting the family in the States. With a lot of planning, we decided in 2010 that this time we would also have a "real vacation". We flew to NJ to visit my parents, then to Orlando: 5 nights with free Disney Dining Plan, in a family suite at the All Star Music Resort. Did I say... BEST VACATION EVER!!! On the Magical Express bus on the way back to the airport, the kids were watching the sales pitch on the video - and the seed was planted. A DISNEY CRUISE! They immediately figured out that if they'd had WDW for their 13th birthday, in 2 years it would be the younger brother's birthday and we could do DCL for his celebration! Seed planted. Seed germinated. Here we are!
Followed the itineraries for 2012 -- no Med or TA (too much $$ anyway, and hey it's only our first cruise), but .... NYC!! A sign from above! And yes, I do believe in such signs, especially when they involve Disney! NYC 8 night to the Bahamas - too hot in August, again too expensive (though that day at WDW is really attractive). NY 2 night - too short. NY-Canada 5 night - JUST RIGHT!! Had to spin it a bit for the kids, "why do we want to go to Canada?", but it made the cut and we booked it.
We've got some privacy needs in the family, so I'll explain upfront that we'll be brief on current family pics and other "embarrassing" personal details. But there is so much to tell -- I think I can do this without crossing any of those fuzzy lines.
Future installments:
Picking the dates for our cruise
What kind of cabin? Where? Will it be available? Will our choice matter in the end?
Food issues to anticipate
Wardrobe issues to anticipate
Character interactions, getting ready...
Birthdays one, two or three?
Port day planning
Packing thoughts
Thanks for jumping onboard!
And I think you'll be amazed at all the 'little' things you think about, remember, find out, anticipate, and plan for!! Celebrate ALL you can on this cruise! If your family enjoyed WDW as well as mine for the first time (and it sounds as if y'all did), you are gonna LOVE this ship!
's too...Mittens, Lucy, and Ella...can't forget those babies either (though they were happy they were home and not on the Magic)!
! Actually it was quite a process to decide. I really wanted August and usually I get what I want when it comes to planning vacations
. But we had a family discussion and weighed out the pluses and minuses and everyone else voted for June. SO, June 17, 2012 it is! When we rebooked, the price of the June cruise had gone up and was basically the same as the August. Or maybe it was because there were no category 11 rooms left, so we "had" to upgrade to a 10C, deluxe inside stateroom instead of the standard. So now we have split bathrooms - better when you consider 4 teenagers in a room
! 
! 
! Knowing our budget, the top of the scale was clearly out (well, one can dream, 
and free upgrades and winning the lottery and such), so I started investigating from the bottom up. Or, from the top, down actually, if you consider the numbers of the room categories. I dreamed of a secret porthole room, or a secret veranda. I dreamed of a Navigator's veranda. Or maybe just an inside room near that secret deck on deck 7, aft. I thought aft would be better than forward (nearer to the drink station
). I dreamed of an inside stateroom for the kids, with an across the hall veranda room for DH and I. Even better, a deluxe inside stateroom for them, the split bathroom would be nice with 4 teens in a room. Lots of dreams and thoughts. But the bottom line was this: we needed to save money where we could, and it was going to be inside standard staterooms for us! My first booking, when I thought we were going to do the August cruise, netted us two category 11B rooms, standard inside staterooms. Not aft. BUT, sideways rooms! I was happy! Because I'm a good DISser and I know that sideways rooms are good! And it was on Deck 5, and the Edge is on Deck 5 good for DS13! So I was happy. And I figured that we're going to be so excited to be on this cruise, and we are not going to be in the room so much, so the money is better spent elsewhere! 
decided we should go in June, not in August. The Family
!
! Someone on the FE thread made a duct tape FE. Hmmmm. Then I saw some great Mickey polka dot oil cloth material, black with white dots and also red with white dots. And I copied all the ideas for a no-sew FE. See where I'm going with this? I'll keep you updated...
And here, we think getting to go to the beach is great and you get to go to the Dead Sea! Wow! Thanks for the detour!
