A vacation in May... the DISNEY way!

[ohboyx3]

So how soon is too soon to start a pre-trip report? I’m just wondering… cause it seems a little early, but I just can’t wait! I just booked 8 nights in May. Yes… I am doing the happy dance! First things first!


The CAST:
Me:

I’ll call myself Belle… She’s my favorite and I’ve always wanted to be a princess. Plus she’s a beauty AND she has brains… you’d think so anyways, cause she’s always reading. Age 32 and Disney addict. I’m a SAHM and part time substitute teacher. I’m also in school taking three classes this semester, and serve on the PTA board. To say I have a full plate at the moment is an understatement… a buffet is more like it! I’m the trip planner extraordinaire! Well… not really, but if we go enough times, maybe I can refer to myself as that. That’s the plan anyways…

DH:

I’ll call him Mr. Incredible. I know I know… Belle and Mr. Incredible is an unlikely match, but I couldn’t bring myself to call me Elastigirl. Besides… My husband is just that! He’s pretty darn incredible, though he doesn’t wear the superhero garb… That might be a little scary. Age 32 and a Disney convert! He’s a General Contractor and to say the last couple years have been rough would be putting it mildly. Luckily, his business has managed to tough out the rough economy and we feel mighty blessed. He’s pretty easy going and lets me do the planning. This is great! His one request? A visit to the water park!


DS1:

We’ll call him Capt. Jack. This is really building up to be an interesting mix of characters isn’t it? Age 11, but he’ll be 12 at the time of travel. In Disney’s eyes he is an adult. Man this trip just got expensive! He is in his first year of middle school and is doing great. He’s a thrill seeker and is ready for the coasters. He’s pretty easy going too and just a great kid. Growing up way to fast though… I had a girl ask me for his cell phone number when I was substituting the other day… AS IF!


DS2:

Hmmmm…. I think I will call him Jedi. Age 9. He is obsessed with Star Wars… I mean… He REALLY thinks he is a Jedi. I think that was partly brought on by our last trip when he was picked to do Jedi training and got a certificate stating that he was one. I mean... he as actually told his Dad and me that he will have to leave us one day to train. Oh... and that he can’t get married! Even his little brother told him Jedi’s weren’t real to which he replied... “Whatever! You haven’t been to the galaxy, so how can you know!” Which brings me to…..?


DS3:

I’ll call him Stitch. It just fits. Age 6. He was exposed to Disney very early, as his first trip he was just 18 months. He can spot a Mickey head a mile away. Literally…. When he was three there was a Mickey antenna topper on a car way ahead of us. He started shouting “Mickey, MICKEY” and pointing. Sure enough…. There was Mickey… husband has said I have brainwashed him. I like to think of it as exposing him to the finer things in life…


So that’s the cast! Are you in? Will I have readers?? I sure hope so. I think we’re in for a fun ride. Next up…. A little background info. Two previous trips with some fun surprises that took place while we were there. Can we top our last trip? I don’t know… but I am willing to try!

 

[ohboyx3]

A little background info…

I left off with cast introductions. Now that you know a little about us, I’ll clue you in on our previous trips and why we want to go back so bad. Well... I guess the latter is a given. Who DOESN’T want to go back to Disney? Anyhoo… read on! I never got to do a trip report before, so this’ll be sorta a mini trip report of our last trip combined in with the pre trip report. Ya still with me? Thought so… I even confused myself that time.


Let me take you waaaaaay back to 1996. That was even before I met Mr. Incredible. A long, long time ago… I was 17 and in my senior year of high school. I had been to the world once before when I was five, but can’t really remember anything about that trip besides being scared out of my wits in Snow White’s scary adventure… or whatever it was called back then. My grandmother had recently moved to Ocala and my Mom and Dad were planning on making a trip to go see her. With this being my senior year my parents asked if I wanted to make the trip with them and take a couple days to go to Disney World! I had always been a Disney fan and to say I was excited was an understatement! I bought an unofficial guide (which was MUCH smaller back then, I must say!) and the planning began. I didn’t even care that we were only doing two parks (there were only three back then) or staying offsite at an Econo Lodge. I didn’t even mind that the castle was going to be a great big, inflatable cupcake while I was there! I was going to Disney!

That trip was amazing. I was 17 and didn’t care about characters; I just wanted to ride the rides. My parents went on everything with me and I will never forget them memories I have of those two days. One of the best? The second day we were there I had gotten the park times wrong. We were at Epcot over an hour before opening. We were sitting on a park bench outside the park when a nice CM came and said hello. I thought she was just being friendly, but she asked us if we would like to open the park that day!! Well what do you think we said??? A big, fat YES! We got to go inside the park before everyone else and welcome everyone in. I remember them saying… The ***** family welcomes you to Epcot! We were the first ones on Spaceship Earth for the day and we also received a special certificate. It was the best two days of my life and I vowed I would always go back. I just didn’t think it would take me that long.


Next up: My next trip! This time with Mr. Incredible and the rest of the cast. Do you think it’s possible for me to open up a park again on another trip? Wait and see! Also, pictures to come of the cast and previous trips!

 

[ohboyx3]

No readers yet. Hopefully they’ll come. Or… Maybe it really is too early.


When I left off I had just made my magical trip to the world with my Mom and Dad. I had always vowed to go back and stay longer the next time. I wanted to stay inside the park too… which seemed completely out of the picture at the time. Surely only rich people do that right? Hee. Hee.


I met Mr. Incredible when I was 18. Long story short, we met, we married, and we had three boys! We just celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. Beating the odds of all those that thought we were “too young” to marry and that it would “never last.” Truthfully… We WERE young, but we made it work and I am thankful for my family each and every day! Though I DO wish I had finished school, so I wasn’t trying to do algebra when I’m 32… But I digress!

Anyways… I always had a trip in the back of my head, but it never seemed possible to go. I was always pregnant, just had a baby, or plain and simple, funds were just TOO tight!

Fast forward to 2006. Mr. Incredible had just finished working out of town for several months where he had only been able to come home on the weekends. Our boys were now ages 6, 4, and almost 18 months. I (gladly) wasn’t pregnant! That’s when I made the ultimate decision. Our family needed a vacation. A DISNEY vacation like never before!

The economy was booming, Mr. Incredible was due for a break, and our boys were at the perfect ages. With only a little twisting of the arm, I was able to convince Mr. Incredible to book our “Once in a Lifetime” trip. So we thought… Little did he know this would be the first of (hopefully) many.

Only Capt. Jack was in school at the time as a first grader. We made the decision to pull him out of school while crowds were low for a January trip. (No flames please!) He would also be turning 7 while we were there, so we were looking forward to the “extra” celebration. Stitch would get in free and be able to stay in a pack and play in the room, so our resort options were vast. A lot different now where we have just a few to choose from that will host our family of five.

We stayed at the AKL for five nights at the end of January. Weather was perfect, Crowds were light, dining plan was amazing (you could still get an appetizer AND a dessert), the resort was awesome, and it was truly a magical experience. We made the most of FP and child swap since Stitch couldn’t ride several things and Jedi couldn’t ride some either. We saw the parades and fireworks and did most of what we wanted… though missing a few things. We never made it to DD that trip or got to ride Splash. It was being refurbished. Capt. Jack saw the Power Rangers and got his pic taken with every one, Jedi rode Star Tours which was the start of his addiction, Stitch fell in love with Minnie, and Mr. Incredible... well he converted. He also had his picture taken with EVERY princess we came in contact with. That certainly didn’t hurt… And me? It was everything I had hoped for and more. I was just happy to have introduced my family to Disney and hoped then next trip wouldn’t take so long in the making. Jedi summed it up great on the car ride home. He said… “Disney World was just so much fun, that brother and I didn’t even have time to fight with each other!” It didn’t take long after we had unpacked to ask Mr. Incredible: “SO, When can we go back?”

Next up: The next trip. Could it possibly top the first one? ……. Oh YES it can! 2008 trip during the “Year of a Million Dreams.” We were in for a BIG surprise! Any guesses????

 

[mom23boyz]

Totally not too soon...the planning is the best part!!!! Looking forward to reading more. We have no trips planned so we have to live vicariously!

 

[PirateKate]

Hi! I like your PTR. I like reading about other families with all boys. It gives me an idea of what my trips will be like when my boys are older.

I will venture a guess for the big surprise- how about a night in the Cinderella Suite? We got pin lanyards for the Year of a Million Dreams, which was nice, but definitely not as cool as some prizes.

 

[ohboyx3]

I'm back. It's been crazy trying to study for exams and everything. Not to mention that a nasty stomach viruse has hit everyone in our house. One. After. the. other. I am seriously sleep deprived. I'm also tired of cleaning up vomit. On the bright side, in between holding a trash can for a puking kid I have surfed the Disboards in the wee hours of the morning and learned quite a bit! Anyways...

When I left off I was going to tell you about our second magical trip. We surprosed the boys with a trip after Christmas in 2008 during the year of a million dreams. We sent them on a scavenger hunt through the house. Here is how it ended. I will never forget their reaction. Priceless!




Wasn't that awesome? I would love to surprise them again if I thought I could pull it off.... Sigh... I never get tired watching it.


So we left New Years day for 8 days and ended up staying ten. It was wonderful. Stitch was still too short to ride most things, but we used the swap and it worked out fine. Here are a few pics from that trip:

Were there that whole week waiting for the dream team to grant us a dream... Fast passes, lanyards, mouse ears.... anything! We never we granted an offical "dream," but to us it was more than just a magical moment.


Our next to last day was spent at the Magic Kingdom. I was determined to get there before rope drop! We got there early. Really early. LOL. Like... an hour early... A CM came up to us and asked us if we there to eat breakfast. "Nope... We're just hangin out...."

"WOuld you like to open the park?"

After that was much jumping up and down.

We were treated like royalty.He gave each of the boys an autograph book and pen. We also received a Magical moment certificate and a free picture. Someone took my personal camera a took pictures with it through the whole thing.

First we were let into the park early where we we taken for a ride in the firetruck.

From there we were taken through an empty park and had pictures taken in front of an empty castle. He drove us to toontown to catch the train where several carachters were waiting for us. They posed for pictures and each signed our autograph books. We got to ride with Mickey himself

and open up the park for the day! The boys had so much fun throwing confetti upon the crowd and getting treated like princes.

We were recognized for the rest of the day and it was truly an experience I will never forget for as long as I live. My boys still talk about it, and boy oh boy did they have some stories to tell when they got home!

An interesting thing we learned was that they only use the train we rode on for the opening shoe each day. So.... it is pretty cool to think that out of ALL the people who visit the world each year, that we were one of 365 families to get to do that! Pretty. darn. special.

So..... OF COURSE we would want to go again! Why on earth not?

Next up: Let the planning begin...

 

[ohboyx3]

What I've got so far:

The plan is to take the kids out of school a few days early. Middle school exams will be over for Capt. Jack and all they do that last week of school is have reward days and watch movies. I'm pretty sure they'd rather be in Disney. Btw- So far only Capt. Jack is in on the plan. The other two know we are going back next year, but not exactky sure when. I really haven't decided how to tell them yet. Contemplating just picking them up from school and taking off.... but then again the anticipation is part of the fun... We shall see TO BE DETERMINED! We are in hopes of hitting the first Star Wars weekend and also to catch Star tours just after it's opened. I am really banking on this, as it's one of the main reasons we are going. I opted out of free dining over Memorial Day weekend. I had originally booked it only to change my mind later. I received a room only discount and am hoping for something better to come along. I just didn'y want to be caught up in the Memorial day crowds.... What do you think? How will crowds be the middle of May? Our last trip we were there the week after New Years it was still pretty crowded until the last couple days when it really thinned down. I am hoping for the best.


The tenative schedule: Thoughts are appreciated!!

Tuesday- Drive down. Stay offsite somewhere and eat in DD. I'm thinking T Rex or Fulton's. This will of course be OOP.

Wednesday- Check in ASMu family Suite! (So excited about the extra space) I've heard awesome things about this resort and I'm hoping they are all true!
Spend the first day at MK. Main goal? to FINALLY ride SPLASH! It is always closed in January for a refurb and we have never gotten to ride it! Dinner will be at O'hana

Thursday- Epcot (Future World)
Main goal: We get to ride Soarin together as a family. Stitch is tall enough to ride! Dinner at Garden Grill. We have never eaten here and I am really excited for it! No illuminations tonight. Back to the resort reasonable early for some swim time.

Friday- Animal Kingdom
Main Goal: We didn't get to ride the Safari last trip and we have never done Rafiki's planet watch. My boys love Animal Planet and would really like to see some animal being operated on So.... Yes... it is a goal for us. Dinner plans are for WCC, but not til 7:30. This is the one ADR I'm sorta worried about. I reallllly wanna try this place, but wondering if all the hopping will be worth it... Ugh.

Saturday- HS Star Wars Weekend

Main goal: Everything Star Wars. Anything else is a bonus... Though I do think I will try for the TSM fastpasses. My boys aren't interested in celebrities, just the caracters. They will be stoked for the storm trooper parade! Lunch at Sci-Fi

Sunday- Sleep in... Breakfast at Chef Mickey's. I could really do without this, but my boys have begged to go back here. We've nevr done a breakfast, so I thought it might be fun! Then on to Epcot World Showcase. I love, LOve, LOVE the world showcase. I like to take my time and enjoy. I love all the little sideshows. People seriously miss out. Main goal: Kim Possible Missions. I am SOOOOO excited to try these!!!! Late lunch at 3:30 at LeCellier. What can I say? It's the only time I could get...

Illuminations!

Monday- Water Park Day!

No ADR's. We'll probably stick with the fod court. We are usually wiped after a day at the waterpark.

Tuesday- HS
Goal: TSM!

Dinner at Prime time

Wednesday- MK
Last full park day....
Goal: Anything we missed.
Dinner at LTT

Thursday- Waterpark and DD

Friday- Check out and start the long trip home...


Thanks for coming along with us on our journey! I am getting so excited!

 

[Emilyswish]

Sounds lke a super fun trip! Hope you have a great time - so cool you got to open a park with your parents and then with your family!!

 

[ohboyx3]

Ugh... Okay So I am really starting to second guess my park days. We really want to hit a SWW day for the boys. As of now I have it planned for Saturday. I honeslty thinking about moving it to Sunday. DOes anyone have any experience with this? Is SUnday better than Saturday crowd wise? Anyone know? Then again it will mess up all my ADR's..... ugh. Suggestions anyone?

 

[TeaForTulips]

subbing!

your boys are too cute! that video had me tear up!

Your dream trip sounds amazing!

I don't think your PTR is too early. I am planning for September and in my mind I have a 2014 trip planning for after all the expansion in MK, DTD, and Animators Resort is done!

Next year will be my first SWW so I don't have any advice on that I'm afraid. I hear it is pretty crazy but like most things at Disney I am sure it will be worth it! I am excited for it myself and I am not a Star Wars junkie by any means I just enjoy the movies.

 

[arielrebornxoxo]

Awww that video is so cool. I loved their reactions when it finally sunk in.

 

[ohboyx3]

subbing!

your boys are too cute! that video had me tear up!

Your dream trip sounds amazing!

I don't think your PTR is too early. I am planning for September and in my mind I have a 2014 trip planning for after all the expansion in MK, DTD, and Animators Resort is done!

Next year will be my first SWW so I don't have any advice on that I'm afraid. I hear it is pretty crazy but like most things at Disney I am sure it will be worth it! I am excited for it myself and I am not a Star Wars junkie by any means I just enjoy the movies.

Thank you! I'm not really a Star Wars fan either and we have no desire to meet the celebs, but I would love to get some pictures taken with the carachters and see the afternoon parade. We are really looking forward to it!

The animation resort sounds awesome! I tuned into your TR also. Fun times!

 

[ohboyx3]

Awww that video is so cool. I loved their reactions when it finally sunk in.

Thank you!!! It was so much fun to do... I wish we had the whole thing recorded. Their reaction was definitely priceless. Thanks for reading!

 

[arielrebornxoxo]

No problem, they are gonna have a blast. Is the next trip gonna be a surprise as well?

 

[ohboyx3]

So I decided to get my boys pin lanyards and pins to put in their stockings for Christmas. I ordered these off Ebay and paid a fraction of the cost of what I would have in the parks. The pins aren't anything special (though they are 100% tradeable) but it will be a great start to trading. I can't wait til they get them. I've also been working on some T-shirts for us to wear to the parks. My husband is protesting the matching shirt thing... but I'm pretty sure he'll give in. On a off topic note... Did anyone Watch The Sing off last night? I was SO bummed that Street Corner Symphony didn't win!

 

[ohboyx3]

No problem, they are gonna have a blast. Is the next trip gonna be a surprise as well?

Well... they know we are going in 2011, but thy don't know when. I think we will tell them this time a little sooner since the anticipation is part of the fun!

 

[arielrebornxoxo]

Well... they know we are going in 2011, but thy don't know when. I think we will tell them this time a little sooner since the anticipation is part of the fun!

That is true. I get the disney jitters just from waiting for the dvd releases.

 

[justakrazymom]

I'm in!! (I have three boys also, but have a little pink one tossed in for good measure lol )..

 

[ohboyx3]

I'm in!! (I have three boys also, but have a little pink one tossed in for good measure lol )..

Jealous!!! I wouldn't know what it would be like to have a girl! They were all wrestling on the floor the other day (husband included) and I was so outnumbered!!! Enjoy that princess! i do love my boys though... I am a lucky mama!

 

[ohboyx3]

And now for the list of things that have never been done....

I have never had a Dole Whip...
Never set foot in the barbershop... contemplating hair cuts for the boys...
Never done the Tiki Room
Never found a paint brush on Tom Sawyer's Island
Never ridden Splash Mountain
Never seen the Country Bears
Never been on the Riverboat (we have one hear.. so I'm really not that worried)
Never been to wake up Tink
Never eaten at Cinderella's Royal Table
Never done the Astro Orbiter and never planning on doing it.. I'd like to keep that Dole Whip in my tummy, thank you.
Never done the Carousel of Progress
Never done Stitch, although DH and the boys have
Never rode Space Mountain since the Refurb
Never seen MSEP since my own childhood.... I am so happy they brought it back. Spectro wasn't the same for me.

Wow... this is starting to get lengthy...

Never seen Circle of Life
Never seen Captain Eo... I hope it's still there in May
Never seen Voices of Liberty
Never done a Kim Possible mission
Never set foot in Innoventions
Never seen the movie in France
Never stayed for the Norway movie. LOL
Never had a Kaki Gori
Never did the Pick a pearl

Never seen Beauty and the Beast
Never saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Never seen American Idol... Thinking about trying out for this!
Never been for a SWW
Never seen the key at Muppets
Never eaten at Pizza Planet... My boys think this is a MUST this trip!
Never ridden TSM
Never ridden the NEW Star Tours (Ummm pretty sure no one has)
Never seen the Narnia attraction
Never done Sounds Dangerous
Never done the animation thing
Never done Playhouse Disney (Afraid we're past that now...)
Never done One Man's dream

Never done Rafiki's planet Watch
Never seen Divine
Didn't get to do the Safari last trip...

Never stayed at a value Resort... Interested to see what it's like


Well.... there's a start. I know I'm bound to think of more as I get more into my planning. The great thing about this is that I know I can't possibly do everything every trip... so I just go with the mindset that whatever doesn't get done this trip... gets done nexttime. Yes... Nextime! LOL

Thanks all for reading..... I was beginning to think I wouldn't have any followers!