ashleymrush
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 25, 2013
Hi everyone! This is my first TR on the boards. I'm very excited (and a little nervous) about it and hope that you will enjoy hearing about the ups and downs of the BEST vacation of my life! Before I start the story, let's go through that necessary "get to know you" stage where I'll tell you a little about my family, how we ended up at Disney World, and myself.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Day 1 - The Drive and Arrival
Chapter 2 - Day 1 - An Evening at EPCOT
Chapter 3 - Day 2 - Early Morning at the Crystal Palace
Chapter 4 - Day 2 - A Magic Kingdom Morning
Chapter 5 - Day 2 - A WET Evening at Hollywood Studios
Chapter 6 - Day 3 - Elephants, Hippos, and Goats...OH MY!
Chapter 6 - Day 3 - Elephants, Hippos, and Goats...OH MY! Part Deux
Chapter 7 - Day 3 - What were we thinking?!
Chapter 8 - Day 3 - Father & Son Pirate Adventure
Chapter 9 - Day 3 - The Night I Cried at Pecos Bill!
Chapter 10 - Day 4 - Toys, Toys and More Toys!
Chapter 11 - Day 4 - Did someone say SUSHI?!
Chapter 12 - Day 5 - To Pee or Not to Pee?
Chapter 13 - Day 5 - The Running of the Rush's
Chapter 14 - Day 5 - This is it...do you feel it?!
Chapter 14 - Day 5 - This is it...do you feel it?! Part Deux
Chapter 15 - Day 6 - A Very Merry Birthday!
Chapter 15 - Day 6 - A Very Merry Birthday! Part Duex
Chapter 16 - Day 6 - A Magically Clear Afternoon
Chapter 17 - Day 6 - The Night My "Wishes" Came True
Chapter 18 - Day 7 - A Fossil Hunting We Go!
Chapter 19 - Day 7 - Shall We Dance?
My Family and I
My DH and I
About Me
My name is Ashley. I am a 30 year old high school social studies teacher, living in Concord, NC, who loves ALL things Disney. I inherited my love of Disney from my mother who also frequents the boards as "themommy." (Hi Mom!
) I've been to WDW at total of 16 times and have been at least once a year since I graduated high school in 2002. As a teacher I can't really afford expensive yearly trips but I have scored myself the coveted position of head chaperone for our high school's senior class trip. This allows me to get my fix from year to year. 
In a nutshell, I'm usually pretty happy - I love my family, my job, and my life!
My Husband
My DH is Lucas. He is 34 years old and this was his third trip to WDW. Both other times he went was with me. This was by far the most magical of his trips though. He even stated when this trip was over that he finally "felt the magic" although he'll never admit it.
My Sons
The loves of my life, my sons, were both on this trip as well. The trip was originally meant to be a 5th birthday present for my oldest son, Brody. We had intended to leave my youngest, Jackson, who will be 2 next week, with my mother. As the trip got closer though, the guilt got larger. Many people suggested that we bring both boys. After much deliberation, we finally decided to bring them both along.
My boys can sometimes seems very alike but for the most part they are definitely two separate kids. Brody (DS5) is very shy and reserved, much like his dad, whereas Jackson (DS2) is more outgoing and rambunctious. I hope you'll enjoy hearing more about their experiences on our trip!
Brody
Jackson
How We Got to Disney
This WDW trip was a LONG time coming! Before my DH and I ever got married, I told him that one of my dreams was to take our children for their 5th birthdays to WDW. With that said, the actually planning for the trip started in September of 2013 when we booked our trip. My intention was to stay at a moderate resort but then I was faced with a trip dilemma - stay moderate and pay for food OOP or stay value and get the QS Dining Plan. I opted for the DP because the thought of having guilt free food seemed much better than a larger room and a pool with a slide. We decided on the QS plan because DS5 doesn't eat a lot or well. He is REALLY picky! Most sit down dining areas didn't have much on the menu for him, whereas every QS had the holy PB&J
! I also didn't want to plan my day around ADRs.
We opted for a stay at All Star Sports, thinking the boys would like it best and made our reservations. We were right, they loved it. More about the resort later though.
The Big Top Reveal
We wanted the trip to be a surprise for DS5, but were also aware of the fact that he isn't very spontaneous and likes to know plans ahead of time. He is very schedule conscious (like both his parents). We decided that we would surprise him two weeks in advance at his birthday party. His actually birthday wasn't until the trip so we told him we were going to have his party a little early.
He wanted a Dumbo themed party. (This is where I should thank Netflix for introducing my children into Disney classics!
)
We decorated the house appropriately...
Did the singing of the birthday song and blowing of the candle...
And then heard a knock at the door, only to find a large package on the doorstep.
When the box was opened, a ton of balloons flew up into the air...
to reveal a sign saying that we were going to WDW!
All in all, the party was a huge success and now we needed to get ready to go!
Over the next two weeks, we decorated our Magic Bands, bought all the necessary supplies, and packed our stuff up.
Our Magic Bands
Our Packing Pile
I hope that's enough to draw you in and have you tag along on our journey! I plan to update the TR regularly.
Up Next: Checking in and an evening at EPCOT!
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Day 1 - The Drive and Arrival
Chapter 2 - Day 1 - An Evening at EPCOT
Chapter 3 - Day 2 - Early Morning at the Crystal Palace
Chapter 4 - Day 2 - A Magic Kingdom Morning
Chapter 5 - Day 2 - A WET Evening at Hollywood Studios
Chapter 6 - Day 3 - Elephants, Hippos, and Goats...OH MY!
Chapter 6 - Day 3 - Elephants, Hippos, and Goats...OH MY! Part Deux
Chapter 7 - Day 3 - What were we thinking?!
Chapter 8 - Day 3 - Father & Son Pirate Adventure
Chapter 9 - Day 3 - The Night I Cried at Pecos Bill!
Chapter 10 - Day 4 - Toys, Toys and More Toys!
Chapter 11 - Day 4 - Did someone say SUSHI?!
Chapter 12 - Day 5 - To Pee or Not to Pee?
Chapter 13 - Day 5 - The Running of the Rush's
Chapter 14 - Day 5 - This is it...do you feel it?!
Chapter 14 - Day 5 - This is it...do you feel it?! Part Deux
Chapter 15 - Day 6 - A Very Merry Birthday!
Chapter 15 - Day 6 - A Very Merry Birthday! Part Duex
Chapter 16 - Day 6 - A Magically Clear Afternoon
Chapter 17 - Day 6 - The Night My "Wishes" Came True
Chapter 18 - Day 7 - A Fossil Hunting We Go!
Chapter 19 - Day 7 - Shall We Dance?
My Family and I
My DH and I
About Me
My name is Ashley. I am a 30 year old high school social studies teacher, living in Concord, NC, who loves ALL things Disney. I inherited my love of Disney from my mother who also frequents the boards as "themommy." (Hi Mom!
) I've been to WDW at total of 16 times and have been at least once a year since I graduated high school in 2002. As a teacher I can't really afford expensive yearly trips but I have scored myself the coveted position of head chaperone for our high school's senior class trip. This allows me to get my fix from year to year. In a nutshell, I'm usually pretty happy - I love my family, my job, and my life!My Husband
My DH is Lucas. He is 34 years old and this was his third trip to WDW. Both other times he went was with me. This was by far the most magical of his trips though. He even stated when this trip was over that he finally "felt the magic" although he'll never admit it.
My Sons
The loves of my life, my sons, were both on this trip as well. The trip was originally meant to be a 5th birthday present for my oldest son, Brody. We had intended to leave my youngest, Jackson, who will be 2 next week, with my mother. As the trip got closer though, the guilt got larger. Many people suggested that we bring both boys. After much deliberation, we finally decided to bring them both along.
My boys can sometimes seems very alike but for the most part they are definitely two separate kids. Brody (DS5) is very shy and reserved, much like his dad, whereas Jackson (DS2) is more outgoing and rambunctious. I hope you'll enjoy hearing more about their experiences on our trip!
Brody
Jackson
How We Got to Disney
This WDW trip was a LONG time coming! Before my DH and I ever got married, I told him that one of my dreams was to take our children for their 5th birthdays to WDW. With that said, the actually planning for the trip started in September of 2013 when we booked our trip. My intention was to stay at a moderate resort but then I was faced with a trip dilemma - stay moderate and pay for food OOP or stay value and get the QS Dining Plan. I opted for the DP because the thought of having guilt free food seemed much better than a larger room and a pool with a slide. We decided on the QS plan because DS5 doesn't eat a lot or well. He is REALLY picky! Most sit down dining areas didn't have much on the menu for him, whereas every QS had the holy PB&J
! I also didn't want to plan my day around ADRs. We opted for a stay at All Star Sports, thinking the boys would like it best and made our reservations. We were right, they loved it. More about the resort later though.
The Big Top Reveal
We wanted the trip to be a surprise for DS5, but were also aware of the fact that he isn't very spontaneous and likes to know plans ahead of time. He is very schedule conscious (like both his parents). We decided that we would surprise him two weeks in advance at his birthday party. His actually birthday wasn't until the trip so we told him we were going to have his party a little early.
He wanted a Dumbo themed party. (This is where I should thank Netflix for introducing my children into Disney classics!
) We decorated the house appropriately...
Did the singing of the birthday song and blowing of the candle...
And then heard a knock at the door, only to find a large package on the doorstep.
When the box was opened, a ton of balloons flew up into the air...
to reveal a sign saying that we were going to WDW!
All in all, the party was a huge success and now we needed to get ready to go!
Over the next two weeks, we decorated our Magic Bands, bought all the necessary supplies, and packed our stuff up.
Our Magic Bands
Our Packing Pile
I hope that's enough to draw you in and have you tag along on our journey! I plan to update the TR regularly.
Up Next: Checking in and an evening at EPCOT!
You are going to do a great job with this TR and I can't wait to see how it all goes! Waiting patiently....
Can't wait to hear more!
The reveal took a long time to plan and get just right but it was so worth it. To be honest, I was just happy to be able to talk about the trip openly in front of him instead of doing it secretly. He knew we were going to go "one day" but knew that we had to wait our turn while other kids enjoyed WDW. He was really great about it all!
Isn't 5 years great! I really think it's the perfect age. Everything is so amazing to them. I'm jealous you get to take girls. I'd so love to get into the princesses but alas it was not in the cards for me. We aren't having any more (too scared of 3 boys!) so I'm hoping for granddaughters in the VERY FAR future. The first time I watched a vacation planning video, after I found out that my youngest was a boy, I cried my eyes out when they talked about all the fun you can have with your "little princess." Gotta love those crazy pregnancy hormones. I wouldn't trade my two boys for anything though. At least we didn't have to use a FP for Anna and Elsa! 
We weren't going to let the traffic and rain get us down though. After all, in a few short hours we had FPs for Soarin'! As the traffic jam continued and the FP time came closer we thought about calling off EPCOT until our last day but as we arrived the rain slowed so we decided EPCOT was still on! 
) ... obviously every family is different but we've never regretting taking our kids when young
