TR Dec 2010:"Dad, you're such a Dork." A Disney Dad's trip with his DD. Complete 1/19

[Sonnyeclipse]

I mulled it over about a hundred times whether to do a trip report or not for my upcoming trip and finally decided to give in and take the plunge. This trip is going to be a little different as it will not involve the whole family. I took my DD (now 12) to Mousefest in 2007 and it was a great trip for her and I to bond. You see, she has twin brothers (now 8) and they tend to take away some attention so I thought it was a great idea for her and I to spend some alone time together. She is now approaching her teenage years so I thought , “Hey, let’s do this one more time before she enters the 4-5 year period where I’m an idiot and she doesn’t want anything to do with me…” So, I booked us a trip for this December.

I booked the trip for Dec 8 – 13 as that was when Mousefest used to be held. As this trip got closer, I realized that I am missing the WDWToday reunion and Pixelmania by several days so am sort of kicking myself (althought I’m not sure that DD would have enjoyed those events). I am trying to learn to use my DSLR that I bought a few years ago and am going to make a concerted effort this trip to get some good photos.

A little about us:



Colin (40, it still pains me to put that age down…..) – I have been an avid Disney fan since my first trip to WDW in 1977. I really started growing as a fan in 2005 when I was exposed to the internet communities and podcasts related to WDW. You see, I always thought I was alone in my love for WDW and realize now there are a lot of people out there just like me. I have started going to WDW a little more regularly over the past few years and have taken a few solo trips. We joined DVC last year and my Dec trip will be my 4th trip this year. I have also run the ½ marathon in Jan as well as the Wine and Dine event in Oct, despite the fact that I am about 20-30 lbs overweight.

Taylor (12) – great student and great all around kid. She loves WDW but I now see where she is starting to hide it a little. She is growing up and I think she is at the stage where she might be a little embarrased about it. We have always had a very close relationship and I can see it slowly changing as she is getting older. Don’t get me wrong. We still have a great relationship but she is growing up and is starting to enter the, “My Dad is a dork” stage.

I am a chronic planner when it comes to these trips and I obsess about planning every detail. The funny thing is, for all the planning I do, I tend to wing it a lot once I get there. With that being said, here are our tentative plans.

Hotels:
AKV – Kidani, Dec 8th and 9th
BWV – Dec 10th – 13th

I was a little hesitant about the split stay but want to try and experience all of the DVC resorts and we couldn’t get into BWV on the 8th and 9th.

Tentative plans:

Wed Dec 8th – should arrive to AKV by about 12:30pm. Plan to do AK as there are EMH that evening.
Thurs Dec 9th – MK all day, maybe HS in late afternoon
Fri Dec 10th – EP all day
Sat Dec 11th – HS in morning, MK in late afternoon/early evening
Sun Dec 12th – EP all day, maybe HS for EMH in the evening
Mon Dec 13th – AK in the morning and then leaving in afternoon

My goal is to stay as late as possible at the parks to try and catch some good night shots with little to no people in them.

ADRs:

Dec 8th – Yak and Yeti for dinner (first time trying this one)
Dec 9th – Kona Café for breakfast (mmmm Tonga toast.)
Dec 10th - Via Napoli for dinner (excited to try the pizza)
Dec 11th – Tony’s Town Square for dinner (haven’t read great things but DD wants to try it)
Dec 12th – Yachtsman’s for dinner (first time for this one too)

So, that is it. I’m excited to try the new restaurants, stay at different resorts, take some new photos and hang with my DD. I have also recently learned of the DIS Dad’s Club and am hoping to maybe meet up with a few members while I am down.

Stay tuned for the trip report in December. I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences with everyone.

[Sonnyeclipse]

Links to Posts

Day Before Departure:Getting Ready to Go

Day1 - Getting there and a chilly day in Animal kingdom

Day 2 – Magic Kingdom to ourselves, a little shopping and meeting friends at Epcot

Day 3 – DVC Merry mixer, a trip down memory lane, and our new favorite place in Epcot



Day 4 – DD overcomes her fears, my worst Disney meal ever and a crazy night at MK


Day 5 –Magic Kingdom madness, my new favorite restaurant, a cold night at the Studios


Day 6 – First car on Everest, where are all the animals? and our trip comes to an end


Final Thoughts - likes and dislikes

[Emma's Dad]

Subscribed You've got a cutie there! And I think it's awesome you are taking a trip for just the two of you. This is something I think I'll try at least once when my DD gets a little older.

[Naively Occur]

Looking fwd to hearing more

[heaven2dc]

Father/daughter trips sound like so much fun - especially before the teen years! I hope you both have a great time and enjoy the holiday atmosphere. We will be there 11/28-12/3/10 and it will be my youngest two sons' first trip (they are 17 & 23). I am glad they are excited to go - I think mostly for the food though

[Goofy + 3]

Daddy-daughter trip. Brilliant. My cousin does this with each kid when they're 12 and I'll probably do the same thing. But for now, our daddy-daughter Disney stuff is Disney on Ice and the occasional touring stage show. Looks like I'll just miss you at BWV. I'm checking out the same day you're checking in.

Looking forward to the rest..

[dvczerfs]

im in!!!! dont worry,dd will come back around after a few years. great idea dad and daughter trip. i could never pull it off with my dw. theres no way she would allow us to go by ourselfs. dd and i have a few things planned like the back stage tour etc.. its funny dw always laughs because when were at wdw in the parks, dd and i walk side by side and dw gets pushed to the back some how. dw never complains.

[dvczerfs]

colin, ill be at mk on the 9th all day, keep in touch.

[Disney Commando]

Colin, Looks like the 8th, 9th & 10th we will be in the same spots

[FreezinRafiki]

Hi Colin! I'm with Dave - my wife would never let me take the kids to Disney without her! Depending on how long you stay at MK on the 9th, we might be there.
We'll be getting there around 4 or so for MVMCP.
I can't wait to see the pictures! Now that you're a member of the DDC, trip reports are mandatory!

[Sonnyeclipse]

Originally Posted by Emma's Dad

Subscribed You've got a cutie there! And I think it's awesome you are taking a trip for just the two of you. This is something I think I'll try at least once when my DD gets a little older.

We had a lot of fun when we did it in 2007. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Originally Posted by Naively Occur

Looking fwd to hearing more

Thanks. I'll try to keep it interesting.

Originally Posted by heaven2dc

Father/daughter trips sound like so much fun - especially before the teen years! I hope you both have a great time and enjoy the holiday atmosphere. We will be there 11/28-12/3/10 and it will be my youngest two sons' first trip (they are 17 & 23). I am glad they are excited to go - I think mostly for the food though

I think it will be fun. I'm sure your sons will have a great time.

Originally Posted by Goofy + 3

Daddy-daughter trip. Brilliant. My cousin does this with each kid when they're 12 and I'll probably do the same thing. But for now, our daddy-daughter Disney stuff is Disney on Ice and the occasional touring stage show. Looks like I'll just miss you at BWV. I'm checking out the same day you're checking in.

Looking forward to the rest..

Thanks. Too bad we'll miss each other.

Originally Posted by dvczerfs

colin, ill be at mk on the 9th all day, keep in touch.

Will do. It would be cool to meet up at some point.

Originally Posted by Disney Commando

Colin, Looks like the 8th, 9th & 10th we will be in the same spots

Good stuff. Maybe we can hook up even just to say hello.

Originally Posted by FreezinRafiki

Hi Colin! I'm with Dave - my wife would never let me take the kids to Disney without her! Depending on how long you stay at MK on the 9th, we might be there.
We'll be getting there around 4 or so for MVMCP.
I can't wait to see the pictures! Now that you're a member of the DDC, trip reports are mandatory!

Thanks. I'll do my best to live up the expectations set by the trip reporters before me.

My wife doesn't mind too much. She likes WDW but not near as much as me. Once every year or two is fine with her. Maybe I'll see you in the MK. We're thinking about MVMCP but haven't committed yet.

[Disney Commando]

Originally Posted by Sonnyeclipse

Good stuff. Maybe we can hook up even just to say hello.

I'm sure we will meet up one of those days

[Krisscot]

Subbing. I wouldn't let my husband go without meet either hahaha

[Sonnyeclipse]

Well, the day is almost here. The bags are packed, online check in done, boarding passes printed and we leave for Disney at 6AM tomorrow. We have to change planes in DC as we’re flying on air miles and United does not fly direct out of Harrisburg. I’m going to miss that AirTran direct flight….



I feel a little bad leaving now as we recently had a flood in our basement and I feel like I’m leaving my wife at a time when I should be staying. She is great at dealing with people so has basically been talking to insurance herself anyway. I just feel bad. She also has to deal with my boys wrestling practices/meets, soccer clinic and lacrosse practice. I am typically the one who takes them to all of this so it will be a lot for her to deal with during the five days we are gone.

I think DD is getting excited now. I was starting to get worried she may think she is too “cool” for this but I think my worries were unnecessary. We have a bag of pennies and are going to start a pressed penny collection. She loves that kind of stuff so it will be something she can look forward to. She is starting to stress a little about the homework but I told her we will do some tonight and on the plane down and back. She is also really looking forward to the resorts. We are staying at Kidani for two nights and Boardwalk Villas for three nights. We were talking about the Boardwalk yesterday and she didn’t realize that we could walk to both Epcot and the Studios. I have never stayed at a resort that is that close to the parks so it will be a new experience for me too.

I’m a little bummed that the temps are going to be cool but you have to sort of expect that possibility when you travel down there this time of year. Swimming may not be in the cards for this trip. At least it won’t be like January when I ran the half marathon.

BRRRRR. THAT was cold.

I’ll never forget walking to the start line for the half and watching snow flurries fall.

Friends of the family are down there now and we will hopefully meet up with them Thursday at some point. As well, I have been in contact with several of the DisDads and hope to meet up with a few of them for photos and to say hello. We are still uncertain about MVMCP on the 9th and will probably wait until the day before to decide. I am excited that the hours for MK have changed to close at 1AM on the 11th. Now I can get those late night photos I have been dying to get when no one is around. I have a new lens for my Nikon as well as a tripod so I’m anxious to try them out.

Well, that is it. Our journey begins. Tomorrow we tackle Animal Kingdom where we’ll run from a Yeti and a Dinosaur, try the Yak and Yeti for the first time, and get to experience EMH in the evening.

I may post a few updates from down there but I’m definitely not making any promises. If it is anything like I expect, there will be late nights and early mornings. WDW, here we come!!!

[OhMari]

Hope you have a great vacation.
Maybe the big snow-storm this weekend, will get you stranded in Florida.
But sometimes when they predict something big, it does the opposite.