Introductions
First off, a little background on our "Disney" past. Our family (consisting of us four), visited WDW for the first time last May. We drove down and spent 6 nights in the world. It was a fantastic time & had me instantly hooked.
In September we went ahead and booked our week at Bonnet Creek for May 2012. We talked MIL into coming along with us. We planned to drive in order to save money. It was going to be MIL's first time at WDW! We booked at Bonnet Creek because of the extra room and the fact that we would have 5 people instead of the Disney standard (which seems to be 4). Yes, there are options for 5 people but the cost would've been outrageous! We paid $693 TOTAL for a 2 bedroom deluxe condo at Bonnet Creek and it was worth much more than that IMO.
Later that year in October, DH agreed to let me book a surprise trip just for me & my DS who was 5 at the time. I booked for Halloween and we surprised him at 3am the morning of that he was going to go on his first airplane ride. We had free dining, attended
MNSSHP & got to see my all time favorite band, Hanson at Epcot's Eat to the Beat concert series. It was an AMAZING time that I will never forget. Neither will DS!
I ended up getting the glorious Southwest Visa card deal with the free 50,000 points so at Christmas, we surprised MIL with the news that we were going to fly instead of drive. She has never been on an airplane!
Sooo... that brings us to the trip. It seemed to take forever to get here but I planned a lot of Disney movie nights to make time go by quicker. I made shirts and booked many ADR's plus a few extra surprises.
We are also from Wisconsin... if that matters to anyone
Here are our intro's:
Kristy (me), age 28
Favorite Disney Character: Tinkerbell
Favorite Disney Movie: Alice in Wonderland
Favorite Disney Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite WDW Ride: Toy Story Midway Mania
Least Favorite WDW Ride: Teacups
Favorite Disney Show: Fantasmic
Favorite WDW Restaurant: Boma's Dinner
Favorite Food: Any type of seafood... if it comes out of the water, I'll eat it!
Favorite Color: Pink
Number of Trips: This will be my 3rd in ONE year!
More info:
I'm a stay at home mom to my 2 kids. I babysit kids part time in my home & secret shop to earn extra money. I love to go to garage sales and sell online as well. I coupon a lot and always find great deals. I also like to scrapbook, cook, spend time with my puppies, garden & decorate cakes. A lot of people think I am super mom... I like to do a lot with my kids and I want them to experience as much as they can while they're still young. Some of my most favorite memories are from when I was young. My mom recently passed away almost 3 years ago and I try to be half of the person she was. I miss her terribly but I think Disney has helped me cope with the loss. I feel like she's with me when I'm watching Wishes. She would've loved to see that.
Nick (DH), age 29
Favorite Disney Character: Aladdin
Favorite Disney Movie: Aladdin
Favorite Disney Park: Hollywood Studios
Favorite WDW Ride: Soarin'
Least Favorite WDW Ride: Country Bears
Favorite Disney Show in the parks: Fantasmic
Favorite WDW Restaurant: Pinnochio's Village Haus
Favorite Food: Cheese pizza... he literally eats at least one whole frozen cheese pizza per day. No lie. I'll get into that in a bit. I know, it's mind blowing.
Favorite Color: Red
Number of Trips: This will be his second within one year.
More Info:
Nick works at a mobility company that makes vehicles handicapped accessible and easier to drive for those with disabilities. He has been working there for close to 10 years now and absolutely LOVES his job. Nick is the kinda guy that can do anything. You give him a challenge and he will rise to it and kick it's butt! Nick's hobbies include remodeling & cars. He loves to work on our house (his latest accomplishment was remodeling our entire basement) and loves to go fast!!! He is an amazing dad & wonderful husband. He loves to spend time with his kids and does a lot more with them than most dads I know. I've been married to him for almost 7 years now (together for 10). Nick grew up with a rough childhood. He never lived in one place for more than a year and changed schools more than he can remember. He never went on a vacation until he met me and never really had anything that he could call his own. It's amazing to see the man he has become and I'm so glad he's mine!
Now onto the weirdness. He's a picky eater. Now when most people say "picky", you think no mushrooms or no onions. No. No meat, no fruit, no veggies. A list of foods he will eat: cheese pizza, mozzarella sticks, french fries, french toast, pancakes, waffles, scrambled eggs, cool ranch doritos, yellow cake (no frosting), vanilla ice cream, grilled cheese sandwiches, peanut butter sandwiches, mac & cheese... a few select candies, certain cereals (most that require sugar or he dumps about 10 tablespoons on top of it) & a steady stream of Mountain Dew. I think he would bleed Mountain Dew to be honest. I know, not healthy. You don't need to tell me that twice! I have tried everything to change his ways but he is one stubborn grown man. He has eaten this way since was 3 years old and literally cannot handle the textures. I've tried bribing, begging, threatening, etc. Nothing works. I blame his mother 100%. She wants to get him hypnotized... maybe someday but he has to be willing to do that first. He's healthy as can be (believe it or not)... strongest man I've ever met as well. He has always been skinnier than me but pure muscle. I wish I could go on that diet! If I did though, I would end up over 500 lbs. with major health issues... ugh, so frustrating!
So whenever we go on a trip, he gets really nervous about what he's going to eat. Our first trip at WDW was a bit stressful since we were still learning. Now we know and we are prepared.
Dominic (DS), age 5
Favorite Disney Character: Buzz Lightyear
Favorite Disney Movie: Haunted Mansion
Favorite Disney Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite WDW Ride: Haunted Mansion
Least Favorite WDW Ride: Tower of Terror
Favorite Disney Show in the parks: Indiana Jones
Favorite WDW Restaurant: T-Rex
Favorite Food: strawberries
Favorite Color: orange
Number of Trips: This will be his 3rd in one year.
More Info:
Dominic was in kindergarten and this was the second trip we took him out of school for (his poor teacher had never been to WDW but she was so excited for him to go twice!) He is the coolest little kid. Always doing something creative. He's hilarious & full of energy. He has grown out of using a stroller (thank goodness) and can go from rope drop till fireworks with no problem. He loves scary movies! He's into dinosaurs, cars, riding his bike, watching movies, making up games & playing with his sister.
Lucy (DD), age 3
Favorite Disney Character: Sleeping Beauty
Favorite Disney Movie: Sleeping Beauty
Favorite Disney Park: She says Disney World... lol
Favorite WDW Ride: It's a Small World
Least Favorite WDW Ride: Haunted Mansion
Favorite Disney Show in the parks: Finding Nemo the Musical
Favorite WDW Restaurant: Hollywood & Vine
Favorite Food: pizza
Favorite Color: pink
Number of Trips: This will be her second trip within one year.
More Info:
Lucy stays at home with me during the day and helps entertain the kids that I babysit. She is super shy and very quiet but LOOOVES everything to do with princesses. She has an almost complete collection of princess dresses (I've purchased most of them at garage sales for as low as $1 each!) and she loves to watch movies just like her brother. Everywhere I take her, someone always comments on how adorable she is. I'm not exaggerating. She is a hard one to say no to and usually doesn't hear that word enough.
Rose (MIL), age 50
Favorite Disney Character: Mickey
Favorite Disney Movie: Fantasia
Favorite Disney Park: Epcot
Favorite WDW Ride: Soarin'
Least Favorite WDW Ride: Stitch's Great Escape
Favorite Disney Show in the parks: Finding Nemo the Musical
Favorite WDW Restaurant: Boma
Favorite Food: Seafood
Favorite Color: Yellow
Number of Trips: This is her FIRST TIME!!!
More Info:
Rose works full time as a postal carrier. When she's not working that job, she is at home tending to her acre and a half garden. She has a small produce stand in the summertime. She lives close to 2 hours away from us so we don't see her as much as we would like and she's usually very busy in the summer with the garden stuff. They recently began raising tilapia about a year and a half ago. There still hasn't been a single tilapia harvested from their tanks but her husband keeps on buying more tanks... she loves seafood and likes to try different things. She has been married twice. The first marriage was where she got 2 boys from (one of them being my husband). They divorced and she remarried the man she is with now but they keep moving farther and farther away
Rose has almost every single Disney movie ever made but has never been to Disney World and never been on an airplane. She rarely ever gets a vacation and I am so glad to be planning this for her and making sure she has the time of her life!
A little personal note on my MIL: She is a wonderful person and I love her very much. It may not seem like it throughout this trip report but I knew what I was getting myself into going on a trip with her. She likes to have a few drinks often. Usually nightly. When she drinks, she gets talkative... a bit too much sometimes. There are quirks about her that neither DH or I really understand
but we promised each other we would try our hardest to put up with it all during this trip. Will we succeed? You'll just have to keep reading to find out
Soooo, let's do the 5 W's right away and get this party started!
Who: Our Fab Five - Kristy (Me), Nick (DH), Dominic (DS), Lucy (DD) & Rose (MIL)
When: May 4th-12th
What: Disney World & Universal
Where: Staying at a Red Roof Inn for the 1st night (roughing it) then off to Bonnet Creek for the following 7 nights!
Why: Because I can't get enough & everyone else secretly loves it as well! Grandma's 1st time!!!
Let the magic begin!
I booked the dessert party as a surprise to everyone (obviously). I lucked out and tried to make an ADR one day and I believe I was one of the very first ones to get through. We arrived in line around 8:15. We were a bit early but the CM's came out and said they would be opening up around 8:45 so it wasn't too bad. We sat in line and I took some pics.
