A "Hopefully" Not So Scary WDW Sibling Reunion - MNSSHP 2011 (Update 9/11 with pics)

[DisneyMom14]

to my second PTR! I am WAAAAAYYYY excited to be planning a trip to WDW to experience all the Halloween festivities! To make that even better, my sister's family and brother are coming also! Before I get too much into that, let's have a few introductions.

Me: Total Disney Freak, can't help helping others plan their Disney vacations nor can I help encouraging everyone to visit WDW. I need a Disney fix more than once a day. I wear Disney clothes and jewelry, listen to Disney music, watch Disney movies/tv shows, read Disney websites, listen to Disney podcasts, have disney screensavers & wallpapers on my computers & phones, use Disney ringtones, read Disney books....yeah, you get the picture. I can usually hide my obsession pretty well UNLESS someone brings up the word Disney. After that, its pretty hard to contain myself.
This will be my 10th Disney trip! This is me in my homemade AK tshirt after riding Expedition Everest for the first time!

DH: Loves me in spite of my Disney obsession....right, honey??? He likes Disney a lot so he puts up with me wanting to go back as soon as we get home. Here he is with DS after they BOTH rode Splash Mountain for the first time. He is smiling for the camera but I doubt I will ever be able to talk him into going back on this ride or anything else just as or more "thrilling."

DD is turning 10 in July and is, well, a tween. She is "too old" for princesses, but she is getting brave enough to enjoy the BIG rides which means I now have a riding partner! She is shy and doesn't show much emotion so I hope that she will act the fool with us this trip and learn to have some fun!

DS is 6 and is loads of fun. He acts shy sometimes but sometimes I think he learned that from his sister. He is super excited to be able to go on more of the big rides this trip. He is my little Disney freak and because he is six, he doesn't care who knows it.

So that's our little family. This will be our 4th trip as a family.

Since my sister and her family are going too, I thought that we would write this PTR together. After she introduces her little family, we'll introduce our baby brother - aka - Flynn Rider. This will be an interesting trip no doubt. Where are those pics from our last trip together in 1989.....

 

[Savanah'sMom]

I’d like to warn everyone now; Mel is definably the writer in the family. I’m so not good at this but I’ll give it my Girl Scout try! Which should be odd since she’s a librarian and I’m a secretary/admin. type of person (they never did give me a title, so I’ll make up my own: Safety Department’s All Awesomeness Goddess (or as my dad & brother refers to me “Roz”)
This trip will be my family’s first trip with Gavin, and being he won’t be 3 until closer to Turkey day should make for an interesting trip and a very long car ride. I’ll take this time to bore everyone with introductions to my family:

Myself, Karly:
I LOVE DISNEY!! Just wanted to make that clear early on. Not quite as obsessed as my sis but pretty darn close. My last trip to the World I had a 3 inch binder filled, index cards that held all kinds of info, and 5 - 4x6 photo books (one for each park and one main one). I’m pretty sure the higher-ups where I work are conspiring against me, they block DIS message boards. This now means I have to work during the day instead of working in between reading. Since they write the checks, I guess I’m working. This will be my 7th trip to Disney.

My BFF & DH, Tyler:
Loves Disney as much as I do. All of our long drives get passed by us talking about the next time we get to go to Disney. This will be our 4th trip together; one of those trips was our honeymoon, awww. He is a great husband, dad, and partner. I feel completely blessed that I get to call him mine. He needs help on what to dress up as for the MNSSHP, so he’s open to suggestions. I think this is his 6th trip to Disney.

DD8, Savanah:
My little mini-me. A pre-tween, hormonal 8 year old. I mean, how is that even possible, I thought I had a little more time????? She really is a great kid, loves her mommy & daddy, and helps entertain her little brother. This will be her 2nd trip. She’s tall enough to ride all the rides and says she will; I guess we’ll find out come October. Our first trip with her was a big learning experience, ok I’ll say it, we were very naive. I had this wonderful idea of a perfect trip, boy was I wrong! She is not to be blamed, I take full responsibility for have very high expectations, lesson learned and will not be repeated. This will make trip #2.

DS2, Gavin:
His daddy’s little mini-me. Our little baby, he’s such a turd. For a 2 year old he has an amazing sense of humor, thinks farts & burps are the funniest thing in the world (which proves to me that it ingrained in their DNA). He’s almost completely potty trained, but I far from stupid, he will be wearing pull-ups. He get’s supper excited when he sees the Fab Five on TV, the computer, or in pictures. I have no idea how he’ll react to seeing the characters in person, I’m guessing he will be ok with the face ones, not so much with the full costumed ones. This is his 1st trip!!!

Well, that's enough for tonight, good night and hope you enjoy our report!!

 

[Savanah'sMom]

Giving us a little bump.

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm joining! Can't wait to hear about all of the plans.

 

[*dreamit*doit*]

Hi Melanie! I'm so glad to find you! I was checking on something on my old TR and wondered if you had a new link and sure enough you did! Well, I'm here and can't wait to hear all your plans! What are your dates? We went to MNSSHP last year on Halloween and loved it!!

Hi Karly!

Those pics from 1989 would be awesome to see!

 

[ZFamily5]

Subbing! We just got back from our mini family reunion trip, so I can't wait to read about yours!

 

[DisneyMom14]

I'm joining! Can't wait to hear about all of the plans.

Thanks for subbing and sharing in our excitement!

Hi Melanie! I'm so glad to find you! I was checking on something on my old TR and wondered if you had a new link and sure enough you did! Well, I'm here and can't wait to hear all your plans! What are your dates? We went to MNSSHP last year on Halloween and loved it!!

Hi Karly!

Those pics from 1989 would be awesome to see!

NATHALIE!!! OMG its been forever! I enjoyed your trip report last year. How was your Halloween trip? Did you write about it? I want to hear all about it.

Subbing! We just got back from our mini family reunion trip, so I can't wait to read about yours!

Thanks so much for joining! I'm sure it will end up being an "interesting" trip. LOL

 

[DisneyMom14]

So there's one more piece to this puzzle....

Our Baby Brother - Flynn Ryder

[/IMG]



No really - DB playing the part of Flynn Ryder only to appease his Disney addicted sisters...

[/IMG]

The first time we saw Tangled, we cracked up the entire time "seeing" my brother in this character and then even more watching Flynn and Maximus fighting exactly how I remember my sister and brother behaving. NOT that I am comparing my lovely sister to a horse . She is MUCH more beautiful than that. It was just the relationship between the two. We love that movie and had to buy it as soon as it came to dvd.

Anyway...(and that is the family segway as my husband says)

Here are some basics:

Who? All those previously introduced (me, DH, DD, DS, my lovely sister, her wonderful husband - who has been my husband's best friend since gradeschool, my sister's spunky little girl, and their cute as a button little boy, and also our baby brother) That makes 9 of us. Sadly my brother's two adorable little boys will not be joining us on this trip but all the more reason to plan an even bigger family trip in a couple years. That one will hopefully have all of us and our parents together.

What? A 5 night/6 day quick trip to "the World"

When? October 7 - 12 We have to go when the kids are out of school...or partially out and if we want Halloween, that means Fall Break - Columbus Day.

Where? WDW of course! The happiest place on Earth! Staying at Pop Century. With the exception of my brother, we have all stayed at Pop...multiple times. We enjoy everything about it. I am particularly looking forward to eating a tye-dye cheesecake when I get there.

Why? Do we reeeeeealllly need a reason????? Well, it's always too long since our last trip AAANDDD we've NEVER been there for the Halloween season. Well mostly, my brother has been during that time so he knows what to expect. My family has been to the Pirate & Princess party and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party so naturally, we MUST experience the MNSSHP which should prove funny with our little chickens.

So that's about it. We have lots more details to share. Since we're always planning our next trip, we've been having details since last year. I'll share those soon. I'll also post some really funny 1989 pics since that's the last time we three siblings have been to The World together. I can't wait!

 

[ZFamily5]

Sounds like you're going to have an amazing trip! I'd love to go in the fall sometime, but Mom is a teacher and with my sisters and I being in high school, junior high and 1st grade now, it's not really "in the plans". I bet you'll have a great time, especially since it's hopefully a little cooler and less crowded!

 

[DisneyMom14]

Sounds like you're going to have an amazing trip! I'd love to go in the fall sometime, but Mom is a teacher and with my sisters and I being in high school, junior high and 1st grade now, it's not really "in the plans". I bet you'll have a great time, especially since it's hopefully a little cooler and less crowded!

I know exactly how you feel. My husband and I both work in the school system and our kids are in school of course as well. Up until a few years ago, we never had off in the fall. All of a sudden, the school board decided to start school earlier and give us a break in October. I feel really fortunate to be able to have that opportunity. Let's hope no hurricanes mess with my plans!

 

[ZFamily5]

I know exactly how you feel. My husband and I both work in the school system and our kids are in school of course as well. Up until a few years ago, we never had off in the fall. All of a sudden, the school board decided to start school earlier and give us a break in October. I feel really fortunate to be able to have that opportunity. Let's hope no hurricanes mess with my plans!

That must be nice! I was trying to fit in a trip around Christmas 2012, but Mom still has to teach until the 21st or 22nd, so there isn't enough time for that. And I hope no hurricanes try to mess up your plans either!

 

[DisneyMom14]

So I'm not sure why I didn't mention this yesterday but yesterday was our big 100 days til Disney World

So I will celebrate today by exclaiming: WE ARE DOWN TO DOUBLE DIGITS, BABY!!!

99 days and just for my sister, who loves dancing bananas....

Last weekend, we celebrated my brother's youngest son's 2nd birthday. Afterwhich my sister facilitated the making of countdown calendars. We've done the chain links before and we've done "the big surprise" so this is a different way of keeping track of our days before Disney. The posters came out really cute. Here they are:

 

[ZFamily5]

Love the countdown posters! This time we did a countdown chain and for some odd reason, decided to start it about 200 days before the trip instead of 100. It was a very long chain. Did you use paint samples?

 

[DisneyMom14]

I mentioned earlier that we have to plan our trips around school. That's because of the kids AND the fact that my husband and I both work for the school system. We are fortunate enough to have a Fall Break built into our school schedule but it is also the first days to be taken away if a hurricane hits. Let's hope we don't have to deal with that.

So this Fall Break "falls" on the weekend of Columbus Day which I know will bring additional crowds but I really don't think it will hinder us much. We've been to wdw during Spring Break twice and also the week prior to Christmas. We've always been able to do everything we wanted and we want to do it all or close to it. Anyway, thanks to so many veteran Disboard members who so generously shared their tips and also to our subscription to TGM, we've had wonderful vacations in spite of high crowds. This gives me confidence that if we just follow the formula, we will be just fine!

This is the plan.

Thursday, October 6- Leave after school, drive about 1/2 way and sleep in a hotel
Friday, October 7 - Travel the rest of the way to Disney, arrive at Pop, unpack, freshen up and get ready for......wait for it.....wait for it.........MNSSHP!!!!!! If we get to Disney super early, we may go to Downtown Disney before checking in. It just depends. Usually, we get to Pop around 1 or 2:00.
Saturday, October 8 - Animal Kingdom, not a typical first day in the parks but its all about crowds....or lack of them
Sunday, October 9 - Magic Kingdom, When we do a party, this day always feels like a second day at MK because we usually get so much done on party night. I hope this year is no different because MK is my favorite park.
Monday, October 10 (Columbus Day) - Epcot for Food and Wine Fest!!! Yum!
Tuesday, October 11 - Hollywood Studios
Wednesday, October 12 - Whatever we want before we leave after lunch, travel 1/2 way and sleep
Thursday, October 13 - arrive home

 

[DisneyMom14]

Love the countdown posters! This time we did a countdown chain and for some odd reason, decided to start it about 200 days before the trip instead of 100. It was a very long chain. Did you use paint samples?

I bet 200 was long!

Actually we did not use paint samples. I have used my share of them and might just have to get some orange and black ones for our window.

My sister printed smaller versions of autograph pages. The kids had fun gluing them down and writing the numbers. We are just using a black marker to x out the days.

 

[Drumteacher]

Hello from DisneyMom14's DH --
I have finally succumbed to the DISboards because I love my wife.



OK, I just want to follow along easily and bump it up every now and then.

Anyway (DW's family segway), hello to everyone and thanks for giving my DW an online Disney Family! Now I only hear WDW coming out of her mouth about 50 times a day instead of 500.

Love you, dear!!!

 

[Savanah'sMom]

Oh Dear Brother-in-Law, I'm happy you have decided to come over to the dark side!

 

[*dreamit*doit*]

NATHALIE!!! OMG its been forever! I enjoyed your trip report last year. How was your Halloween trip? Did you write about it? I want to hear all about it.

I know, it has been! I haven't been on the DIS too much the past few months...just busy with the girls and LIFE! Also, we were very lucky to take a few trips to WDW, but now we don't have any plans (yet) for the next trip so I'm kinda suffering withdrawls and that always brings me here!

I didn't write about our Halloween trip but it was AWESOME! Of course, it was with a bunch of people (family and great friends) and we also stayed at Pop. It was our first time doing MNSSHP and I'd love to go back! I know there's stuff we didn't do/see but that's what happens sometimes when you're in a group, it's kind of a trade-off. Also, it was actually Halloween night so it was sold-out and packed! In fact, some of the people that went with us had decided to go kind-of last minute and they had to buy tickets for another party night. Since it was still Halloween weekend it was still kind of full for them, but I know people have gone on other nights and it's not so packed, so you guys should be good. My favorite part, by far, was the parade!! It is worth it just for that! It was our first time doing F&W, too, but we had stayed an extra night to do that and everyone we had been with had gone home by then so that's something else I definitely want to do again and that, I DO believe, would be more fun with a group.

How cool that your DH and DBIL are BFF's! You guys must all have so much fun together!! Your brother as Flynn Ryder is hilarious! We love that movie, too! We just got it in May and the girls still watch it everynight.

The countdown calendars are so cute - yayyyy for double digits!!!

Oh, and hi Drumteacher!

 

[shocky5]

Sub'ing!!!

I love your PTR and your family is hilarious! Found another similarity... sibling closeness. Only I'm your 'DB' in my family as I have 3 brothers, no sisters. I think that was in the plan - allows my to tolerate my DH's antics from time to time!

Can't wait to read more! Wow! Double digits... We are down to 168 days... that is way better than when we started in the 300's though! Dancing banana for your sis!

 

[shocky5]

Hello from DisneyMom14's DH --
I have finally succumbed to the DISboards because I love my wife.



OK, I just want to follow along easily and bump it up every now and then.

Anyway (DW's family segway), hello to everyone and thanks for giving my DW an online Disney Family! Now I only hear WDW coming out of her mouth about 50 times a day instead of 500.

Love you, dear!!!

Awww your DH's first post!