sarahk0204
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2009
- Messages
- 1,218
Time for a PTR!
Lets start with some history.
Here I am, age 6. I am with my two younger brothers. It was 1976, and it was my first trip to Disney. My grandparents retired to the Space Coast of FL in 1972, and they worked hard to get their only grandchildren to visit once a year. I grew up making many trips to the Magic Kingdom, Sea World, Circus World, and Kennedy Space Center.
Here is DH on his first trip to Disney. We were on our honeymoon in 1996. Despite not growing up with it, DH enjoys his Disney vacations.
Here are our children on their first trip. It was 2008, and they were 4 years old. (Yes, they are twins.) We are in the camp of waiting to bring children to Disney until they are old enough for them to remember it and for us to be able to enjoy it.
Here we are on our latest trip in December 2013
We did annual trips in 2008 and 2009. In 2010 we bought DVC, and, lured by the siren songs of developer points and annual passes, we made two trips each in 2010 and 2011. Then DH started his PhD program, and vacation money became tuition money. Sadly, we went two years between trips before this last one in 2013.
Now we only have to wait about 18 months between trips. Let me give you our basic plan, which will also explain the critters in the title of this trip report.
First of all, we are driving from IL . We have driven for all of our trips except this last one in December. When we started vacationing with the kids, they were toddlers, and DS especially was wary of new experiences. I had visions of being one of those families you see on the news who is kicked off the airplane because of their toddlers temper tantrum. Truth is, we like to drive. Yes, we use electronic devices, and yes, it takes more time, but we enjoy it.
We will leave when the kids school gets out. In our district, we have 5 potential snow days built into the calendar. The cool thing is that when they are all used up, we still only have to go until the last possible date on the calendar. So our school next year can get out as early as Wednesday, June 3 and as late as Monday, June 8, but no later than that.
As of now, I will have our vacation start on 6/9. If we have a mild winter (unlike this year), we may go to Florida earlier.
We hope to make our first stop with our friends near Tampa. Since weve made fewer Florida trips, weve made fewer side trips to visit them. They keep asking us when we will be back. After a couple of days there, we hope to move on to:
WWHP! (or whatever they are calling it by then). We have never been to US as a family. I went to US once in 1992, pre WWHP, pre IOA, pre DH, even! We will come from Tampa with a stop at DTD (gotta get a Disney fix in there somewhere!) We will likely stay 1 night at the Doubletree right outside US and move there for the following night Then we will spend 3 days/2 nights at a Universal onsite hotel before heading to:
VBR! My grandparents lived about 20 miles up A1A from here, so I love the area. It is very much home to me. We will spend a couple of days here, just relaxing. DD and I may try the spa. Well definitely have dinner at Lobster Shanty, a family favorite. The day we check out, we will head north to:
Kennedy Space Center! DH and I were last here on our honeymoon, and the kids have never been. After a full day there, we will head further north to have dinner with some IL friends who have recently relocated to Jacksonville. Well spend the night near them, before our next stop:
Baltimore, MD by way of Richmond, VA. This is because DS discovered football within the past year. Now, DH is a fan, and we usually have games on in our house on Sundays. It has been the fall background for DH to grade papers his entire career. DH is a Chicago Bears fan. DS and DD didnt really pay attention to the games much before this past season. Now, they can have conversations about the game with their dad and grandpa. Its pretty cool.
But what do the Bears have to do with Maryland? Well, DS has decided he is not a Bears fan. Ok, but his initial alternative was to become a Packers fan. Now, this would not do!
A cousin was following the Baltimore Ravens, so DS started following them as well. He watched their games on the NFL app, and asked for Ravens stuff for Christmas. Both kids did state reports this year, and DS chose Maryland (and learned quite a bit about fun things to do there, etc.). (DD chose Hawaii, but Aulani isnt in the budget yet!)
So, DS would like to go to Baltimore. DH teaches English, and he really likes Edgar Allen Poe. We visited Poe historic sites in Richmond, VA when we were first married. There are also some Poe sites in Baltimore. So we will drive to Richmond, spend some time there, and then drive to Baltimore for a few days.
Of course, Baltimore is very close to Washington DC. Our kids are old enough to actually appreciate that, so we will use Baltimore as a home base and travel into DC via train. We will have no shortage of things to do there!
We still need to get back to IL from Baltimore. Rather than a straight shot home, we keep finding things to do along the way. As of right now, we are going to visit the Antietam historical site, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
So, 4 people, 5 various animals, and about 3 weeks vacation, driving through 13 states.
Lets start with some history.
Here I am, age 6. I am with my two younger brothers. It was 1976, and it was my first trip to Disney. My grandparents retired to the Space Coast of FL in 1972, and they worked hard to get their only grandchildren to visit once a year. I grew up making many trips to the Magic Kingdom, Sea World, Circus World, and Kennedy Space Center.
Here is DH on his first trip to Disney. We were on our honeymoon in 1996. Despite not growing up with it, DH enjoys his Disney vacations.
Here are our children on their first trip. It was 2008, and they were 4 years old. (Yes, they are twins.) We are in the camp of waiting to bring children to Disney until they are old enough for them to remember it and for us to be able to enjoy it.
Here we are on our latest trip in December 2013
We did annual trips in 2008 and 2009. In 2010 we bought DVC, and, lured by the siren songs of developer points and annual passes, we made two trips each in 2010 and 2011. Then DH started his PhD program, and vacation money became tuition money. Sadly, we went two years between trips before this last one in 2013.
Now we only have to wait about 18 months between trips. Let me give you our basic plan, which will also explain the critters in the title of this trip report.
First of all, we are driving from IL . We have driven for all of our trips except this last one in December. When we started vacationing with the kids, they were toddlers, and DS especially was wary of new experiences. I had visions of being one of those families you see on the news who is kicked off the airplane because of their toddlers temper tantrum. Truth is, we like to drive. Yes, we use electronic devices, and yes, it takes more time, but we enjoy it.
We will leave when the kids school gets out. In our district, we have 5 potential snow days built into the calendar. The cool thing is that when they are all used up, we still only have to go until the last possible date on the calendar. So our school next year can get out as early as Wednesday, June 3 and as late as Monday, June 8, but no later than that.
As of now, I will have our vacation start on 6/9. If we have a mild winter (unlike this year), we may go to Florida earlier.
We hope to make our first stop with our friends near Tampa. Since weve made fewer Florida trips, weve made fewer side trips to visit them. They keep asking us when we will be back. After a couple of days there, we hope to move on to:
WWHP! (or whatever they are calling it by then). We have never been to US as a family. I went to US once in 1992, pre WWHP, pre IOA, pre DH, even! We will come from Tampa with a stop at DTD (gotta get a Disney fix in there somewhere!) We will likely stay 1 night at the Doubletree right outside US and move there for the following night Then we will spend 3 days/2 nights at a Universal onsite hotel before heading to:
VBR! My grandparents lived about 20 miles up A1A from here, so I love the area. It is very much home to me. We will spend a couple of days here, just relaxing. DD and I may try the spa. Well definitely have dinner at Lobster Shanty, a family favorite. The day we check out, we will head north to:
Kennedy Space Center! DH and I were last here on our honeymoon, and the kids have never been. After a full day there, we will head further north to have dinner with some IL friends who have recently relocated to Jacksonville. Well spend the night near them, before our next stop:
Baltimore, MD by way of Richmond, VA. This is because DS discovered football within the past year. Now, DH is a fan, and we usually have games on in our house on Sundays. It has been the fall background for DH to grade papers his entire career. DH is a Chicago Bears fan. DS and DD didnt really pay attention to the games much before this past season. Now, they can have conversations about the game with their dad and grandpa. Its pretty cool.
But what do the Bears have to do with Maryland? Well, DS has decided he is not a Bears fan. Ok, but his initial alternative was to become a Packers fan. Now, this would not do!
A cousin was following the Baltimore Ravens, so DS started following them as well. He watched their games on the NFL app, and asked for Ravens stuff for Christmas. Both kids did state reports this year, and DS chose Maryland (and learned quite a bit about fun things to do there, etc.). (DD chose Hawaii, but Aulani isnt in the budget yet!)
So, DS would like to go to Baltimore. DH teaches English, and he really likes Edgar Allen Poe. We visited Poe historic sites in Richmond, VA when we were first married. There are also some Poe sites in Baltimore. So we will drive to Richmond, spend some time there, and then drive to Baltimore for a few days.
Of course, Baltimore is very close to Washington DC. Our kids are old enough to actually appreciate that, so we will use Baltimore as a home base and travel into DC via train. We will have no shortage of things to do there!
We still need to get back to IL from Baltimore. Rather than a straight shot home, we keep finding things to do along the way. As of right now, we are going to visit the Antietam historical site, the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
So, 4 people, 5 various animals, and about 3 weeks vacation, driving through 13 states.
The fish is good, the prices are reasonable, and it is family friendly. DS has really started to like seafood over the past couple of years, and he will have lots to choose from. DD is less adventurous, but they have some nice chicken dishes, too.
We may go to the one in Cocoa Beach, or perhaps we will try the Landry's restaurant in Melbourne. We are members and have a reward coming, so we may save it for that, as we've outgrown RFC and T-REX.
We are trying to get some ideas for food, but since this isn't as intense as WDW dining, I am fully prepared to wing it. 
Our repairman tried, but the part we needed is no longer being made.
from my trip report, but I see there are plans for cabins/bungalows at VWL. DH and I both agree that this would be a great place to add on, were we ever able to.
