Welcome to my Xmas 2012 Pre-Trip Report!!
Let's get started with introducing ourselves and then we'll get into how this trip came about.
The first picture is of DH (Rob) and myself (Nikki) at our vow renewal in 2009 at Disney World. It's one of my favorite pictures and memories of our life together. You can read all about that special day by clicking on the link in my signature.
The second picture is of our two wonderful kids, Destiny & Bobby on the cliffwalk in Newport, RI.
DH and I have been together 18 years (15 years married) and I am a SAHM & DH works in telecommunications. We love Disney and our obsession began when we honeymooned there in 1997. It was only my second trip and it was Rob's first trip and we haven't missed a year since then! We are also DVC members and take full advantage of our membership!! I am so lucky to have a DH who loves going to WDW as much as I do.
Our kids also love Disney, although our teenage DD acts like she is too cool for it, she loves it once we get there!
We have been fortunate enough to have gone to WDW many times but have never been during Xmas!!! So let's get started on how this trip came about!
We had booked and planned our 2012 Disney trip for the end of Aug. With the ages of our kids we can no longer take them out of school to go on vacation. There is just too much work for them to make up, so we can only go during holidays or the summer But, it's better than not going at all so we make the best of it!
DH had been begging me for a pool for our home for years. I was against it but the kids wore me down. After installing the pool, and fencing in the entire property it put a huge dent in my Disney budget. DH then said the unthinkable, "I think we should cancel our trip." With the holidays coming up, an expensive trip, and the pool/fence it was just too much within a couple of months time. I should add that for Xmas we spend an obscene amount of money on extended family plus we host Xmas day dinner at our home for 30 of my relatives. I should also add that about a month before my family members all had a big falling out, but that's too negative and crazy to get into here. So, back to Disney. I agreed with DH but then the wheels got turning and I said, "hey, how about we just go to Disney for Xmas?" It has always been a dream of ours but we always felt guilty about leaving during the holidays. Well this year, I felt no guilt at all!! DH thought it was a great idea and we agreed we should surprise the kids with the trip. So off I went planning, and planning, and planning! After all it's what I love to do!! My goal is to make this a special trip with the hope it will become an annual event!!
How did our family take it?
Just fine! We sent out a message to them all stating we regretfully will not be able to host Xmas dinner and will not be participating in any gift exchanging this year. We went on to say we will be spending Xmas at WDW and the family members that bothered to respond were happy for us.**I wanted to add that this year has been a big year for us. DH & I celebrated our 15 year wedding anniversary in July. In May DH graduated with his BA in business and in June he turned 40!!! We were suppose to celebrate all these wonderful events at WDW in Aug, so...We'll just have to celebrate them all in Dec. with some special activities!
*Next up, Letting the cat out of the bag to our kids!!! Some people just can't keep a secret!!!