jayally
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 31, 2004
- Messages
- 555
Even if no one reads this trip report it will hopefully be theraputic for me as I am still holding onto hurt and angry feelings which are not allowing me to move on with my life and it really makes me mad! I have convinced myself if I can have a great vacation to WDW my life will be wonderful again.
My first trip to WDW was in 1976. I didn't go again until 1991 for my honeymoon. My DH and I never planned any trips because he preffered to stay home and relax when he had time off because he didn't like to travel. In July 2003 I decided to take my 8 yr old son to the EBAY live convention in Orlando and combine it with his first trip to WDW. My daughter was 5 at the time and I didn't think I could handle 2 little kids by myself on vacation! Boy have I grown up!
Cast of Characters - Michelle (Mom) Michael (EX- husband/part time Dad) Jay born in 1993 and Allyson born in 1996.
My son when he was 8 yrs old on his first WDW trip. Pal Mickey has been on every trip since!
I planned a land/Sea trip in March 2005 for my 11 yr old Son, 8 yr old daughter, my Husband and myself. We stayed 4 nights at the Dolphin and then a Category 11 inside cabin on the Wonder for a 3 day cruise. This was our very first family vacation. I got tired of waiting for my husband to make a decision so I planned it myself, with or without him. At first DH didn't want to go but when he heard about my plans he thought it sounded like fun. Little did I know I should have ignored his change of heart and continued my plans without him.
Here is the view of the Dolphin room. As you can see by the mess we made ourselves at home. It looks a lot messier on the big screen!
My daughter slept in a small pop up tent and had the best view in the room.
I thought this trip would be like a 2nd honeymoon but as it turned out my marriage was not as good as I thought it was and during the entire trip, especially on the cruise DH was moping around, moody and miserable. He didn't want to do much on the cruise and I wasted so much time waiting for him to make his mind up. He ended up flying home right after the cruise to work a trade show for a company he didn't work for.
Forced family picture at MGM
The kids love Epcot and making robots.
The cruise sunset I enjoyed by myself.
This is what DH did for the entire cruise
The kids in 2005
The kids and I flew home a few days later on our own and a friend picked us up at the airport. It was windy and raining when we got back to the house and I found someone had broken in and ransacked the house. They stole everything they could move easily, even taking the few beers in the fridge. We felt violated. I called DH immediately to have him drive 4 hours to come home as we were very scared but he said he wouldn't. The kids didn't want to be alone in the house and I was very upset. When he did come back he told me he quit his job and on April 1st rented an apartment and moved 2 hours away. He said he was trying to find a way to tell me he was leaving us while we were on the trip but he didn't know how. I associate that vacation with the end of my 17 yr marriage and was so angry at him for ruining it for me after months and months of planning. I was determined to erase that trip from my memory and do it again, this time in style!
I tried to make things work but eventually I filed for divorce in October 2005 after I found out he was having an affair. I still cannot get the truth about when it started and if it was before or after our trip. There are several stories about how they met but it doesn't matter anymore. He married her in June 2009.
Fast forward to 2007. I wanted to plan another trip and this time decided we would do the things I wished we would have done in 2005. I planned to go in November this year on another Land/Sea trip to celebrate our birthdays.
We spent our first night at Pop century
and then moved to the Poly. I booked a standard view room but requested a volcano pool view. It was just steps from the pool and view of MK!
I hated not having a window on the cruise so I booked a 4 night Cat 7 secret veranda room on DCL which allowed us to choose a deluxe resort so we stayed at the polynesian.
The view from the entry to our veranda room
The view from the veranda
The kids loves ordering Mickey Ice cream bars from room service!
During our Poly portion my son wasn't eating a whole lot and I was a bit irritated he would only pick at his food at Ohana's and the Crystal palace.
Standard fare for my son in the beginning but he perked up on the 2nd half of the trip when I got sick.
Breakfast at Pop century on our first day
Dinner at Crystal Palace
Breakfast at Ohana's. I tried to get him to drink some airborne.
Lunch on our our first cruise day after boarding
Finally getting back to himself on the castaway cay. He loves hotdogs!
They sure grow up fast!
Jay was notorious for drinking soda from my cup and I always got annoyed with him and this trip was no different. The only problem was he was sick but never said anything to anyone. He was sick during the 3 days at the Poly and the first night on the cruise. I ended up getting sick on the 2nd night of the cruise and had such a sore throat I could not drink water without it being painful. I should have gone to the Ship's Dr but I thought it would go away quickly but it just got worse. I could not sleep on the ship and because my son had been sick he was snoring and also started wetting the bed again. I was so frustrated and upset. When we arrived back in port and headed off to OKW I stopped to buy all kinds of cold remedies to help me feel better but nothing seemed to work. Thinking back on it I probably had strep throat. I could not enjoy the food on the dining plan I purchased and I was not in a good mood. I spent the rest of the trip deathly ill but still trying to put on a smile for the kids.
We absolutely loved the room and location at the Poly and on the cruise and the crowds were very low. Since 3 nights at Disney wouldn't be long enough to get our Disney fix and the package came with 7 day parkhoppers with water park & Disney Quest I ventured onto the DVC board and found someone to rent me points to stay 4 nights at Old Key West. I added on the dining plan to this portion of our trip and we did the Mickey's very Merry Christmas party.
The room at Old Key West
Poor Jay got the air mattress on the floor, he started wetting the bed again during this trip. I bought a cheap one at a local wal-mart
The kids had to make robots at epcot again
The Osbourne lights at Disney Studios. I still want to call it MGM.
Our last night at the Hyatt MCO.
We had a 7am flight and I was so sick I took cold medicine that made me very tired. The kids complained I snored all the way home on the plane. How embarrassing but I didn't care at the time. I was just glad to be asleep.
So now I have 2 trips that did not transplant me to the Happiest place on earth and I keep telling myself if only I could get it right everything would be ok.
I planned another deluxe "Do over" trip for November 2009 but ended up being laid off for a couple of months in February so in a panic, and needing the deposit money for bills, I cancelled. Of course the rest of the year I had to read about all my friends and relatives posting on Facebook what a great time they had at WDW. I have been wishing we went in November 2009 ever since I cancelled so instead of regretting it I decided to plan our 3rd trip and no matter what we are going to WDW in November 2010!
next up: The beginning
My first trip to WDW was in 1976. I didn't go again until 1991 for my honeymoon. My DH and I never planned any trips because he preffered to stay home and relax when he had time off because he didn't like to travel. In July 2003 I decided to take my 8 yr old son to the EBAY live convention in Orlando and combine it with his first trip to WDW. My daughter was 5 at the time and I didn't think I could handle 2 little kids by myself on vacation! Boy have I grown up!
Cast of Characters - Michelle (Mom) Michael (EX- husband/part time Dad) Jay born in 1993 and Allyson born in 1996.
My son when he was 8 yrs old on his first WDW trip. Pal Mickey has been on every trip since!
I planned a land/Sea trip in March 2005 for my 11 yr old Son, 8 yr old daughter, my Husband and myself. We stayed 4 nights at the Dolphin and then a Category 11 inside cabin on the Wonder for a 3 day cruise. This was our very first family vacation. I got tired of waiting for my husband to make a decision so I planned it myself, with or without him. At first DH didn't want to go but when he heard about my plans he thought it sounded like fun. Little did I know I should have ignored his change of heart and continued my plans without him.
Here is the view of the Dolphin room. As you can see by the mess we made ourselves at home. It looks a lot messier on the big screen!
My daughter slept in a small pop up tent and had the best view in the room.
I thought this trip would be like a 2nd honeymoon but as it turned out my marriage was not as good as I thought it was and during the entire trip, especially on the cruise DH was moping around, moody and miserable. He didn't want to do much on the cruise and I wasted so much time waiting for him to make his mind up. He ended up flying home right after the cruise to work a trade show for a company he didn't work for.
Forced family picture at MGM
The kids love Epcot and making robots.
The cruise sunset I enjoyed by myself.
This is what DH did for the entire cruise
The kids in 2005
The kids and I flew home a few days later on our own and a friend picked us up at the airport. It was windy and raining when we got back to the house and I found someone had broken in and ransacked the house. They stole everything they could move easily, even taking the few beers in the fridge. We felt violated. I called DH immediately to have him drive 4 hours to come home as we were very scared but he said he wouldn't. The kids didn't want to be alone in the house and I was very upset. When he did come back he told me he quit his job and on April 1st rented an apartment and moved 2 hours away. He said he was trying to find a way to tell me he was leaving us while we were on the trip but he didn't know how. I associate that vacation with the end of my 17 yr marriage and was so angry at him for ruining it for me after months and months of planning. I was determined to erase that trip from my memory and do it again, this time in style!
I tried to make things work but eventually I filed for divorce in October 2005 after I found out he was having an affair. I still cannot get the truth about when it started and if it was before or after our trip. There are several stories about how they met but it doesn't matter anymore. He married her in June 2009.
Fast forward to 2007. I wanted to plan another trip and this time decided we would do the things I wished we would have done in 2005. I planned to go in November this year on another Land/Sea trip to celebrate our birthdays.
We spent our first night at Pop century
and then moved to the Poly. I booked a standard view room but requested a volcano pool view. It was just steps from the pool and view of MK!
I hated not having a window on the cruise so I booked a 4 night Cat 7 secret veranda room on DCL which allowed us to choose a deluxe resort so we stayed at the polynesian.
The view from the entry to our veranda room
The view from the veranda
The kids loves ordering Mickey Ice cream bars from room service!
During our Poly portion my son wasn't eating a whole lot and I was a bit irritated he would only pick at his food at Ohana's and the Crystal palace.
Standard fare for my son in the beginning but he perked up on the 2nd half of the trip when I got sick.
Breakfast at Pop century on our first day
Dinner at Crystal Palace
Breakfast at Ohana's. I tried to get him to drink some airborne.
Lunch on our our first cruise day after boarding
Finally getting back to himself on the castaway cay. He loves hotdogs!
They sure grow up fast!
Jay was notorious for drinking soda from my cup and I always got annoyed with him and this trip was no different. The only problem was he was sick but never said anything to anyone. He was sick during the 3 days at the Poly and the first night on the cruise. I ended up getting sick on the 2nd night of the cruise and had such a sore throat I could not drink water without it being painful. I should have gone to the Ship's Dr but I thought it would go away quickly but it just got worse. I could not sleep on the ship and because my son had been sick he was snoring and also started wetting the bed again. I was so frustrated and upset. When we arrived back in port and headed off to OKW I stopped to buy all kinds of cold remedies to help me feel better but nothing seemed to work. Thinking back on it I probably had strep throat. I could not enjoy the food on the dining plan I purchased and I was not in a good mood. I spent the rest of the trip deathly ill but still trying to put on a smile for the kids.
We absolutely loved the room and location at the Poly and on the cruise and the crowds were very low. Since 3 nights at Disney wouldn't be long enough to get our Disney fix and the package came with 7 day parkhoppers with water park & Disney Quest I ventured onto the DVC board and found someone to rent me points to stay 4 nights at Old Key West. I added on the dining plan to this portion of our trip and we did the Mickey's very Merry Christmas party.
The room at Old Key West
Poor Jay got the air mattress on the floor, he started wetting the bed again during this trip. I bought a cheap one at a local wal-mart
The kids had to make robots at epcot again
The Osbourne lights at Disney Studios. I still want to call it MGM.
Our last night at the Hyatt MCO.
We had a 7am flight and I was so sick I took cold medicine that made me very tired. The kids complained I snored all the way home on the plane. How embarrassing but I didn't care at the time. I was just glad to be asleep.
So now I have 2 trips that did not transplant me to the Happiest place on earth and I keep telling myself if only I could get it right everything would be ok.
I planned another deluxe "Do over" trip for November 2009 but ended up being laid off for a couple of months in February so in a panic, and needing the deposit money for bills, I cancelled. Of course the rest of the year I had to read about all my friends and relatives posting on Facebook what a great time they had at WDW. I have been wishing we went in November 2009 ever since I cancelled so instead of regretting it I decided to plan our 3rd trip and no matter what we are going to WDW in November 2010!
next up: The beginning
and be gone over his birthday on Oct 25th.( I am sure part of that is he now has a girlfriend!) My sister said she was thinking about going to Disneyworld this year over thanksgiving and it would be great to plan a family reunion with our Florida relatives. My kids used to have November and March off school and this became our perfect vacation months. Now that they are getting older it has become more difficult to plan around their different schedules. My Son moved in with his Dad this year and his school is not year round like my daughter's. I figured if we went over Thanksgiving week but planned for some days before the crowds started to arrive we would be able to get a lot more done. I opened an excel spreadsheet and started inputting figures and dates. 
) and they get the park hoppers. I am always amazed at how small our World really is some times. I am sure we would use them and the kids think I should get them but it's not coming out of their bank account!
. I guess it will depend on how the give a day works and what my finances look like. I am going to be adding on the dining plan so without the park hoppers it will make setting up our dinner choices a little harder.
so now things can really start to happen!
)
