Am I crazy? I might be... but I do it for the Mouse!!! Grand Gathering PTR w/new pics

[hmdavid]

Hello and welcome to my pre-trip report!!! Thanks for coming along for the ride!

As much as I love reading trip reports, I never thought that I would write one myself. However, it occurred to me that doing this is a great way to organize my thoughts and get ideas from other wonderful DISer's. I am also hoping that writing a pre-trippie will help to pass the time until our trip because two more months seems like a long time right now!

A little background info to get you started on this journey... my family (myself, DH and our 3 DD's) visited Disney World for the first time in March and knew that we would be back soon. We just hadn't planned on going again this year! However, because of situations with DH's career that are beyond our control (more on that later), we have decided to go back this September and bring his family along with us. Eleven people in all with 5 little princesses between the ages of 4 and 7! I think the kids will have a fabulous time! Our girls have talked about going to WDW with their cousins since we returned in March. They do not yet know that we are going, but they are going to be soooooooo excited when they find out!!!


So, that is a peek at what is to come. A Grand Gathering with the in-laws is in the works and I am the designated planner. Will I be able to pull off a truly Magical Gathering? Am I crazy for trying? Only time will tell! Luckily, I can leave most of the magic to the Mouse!

Stay tuned...

 

[hmdavid]

Time for introductions. To truly appreciate this pre-trippie, I feel that an introduction to the cast is necessary. Let's start with ...



ME... Hi! I love all things Disney! I grew up watching classic Disney films. I love all of the new movies just as much and have enjoyed watching them again and again with my girls! I am a stay at home mom and I love being able to be with my girls. I feel so fortunate to have the opportunity. DH is in the military, so it is nice for me to be home with them because there are so many times that he is not. Other than my family and Disney, I love dance, reading, cooking, boating, walking the doggie and girls nights! Oh, did I mention I think I am addicted to the DIS ? Is there a support group or 12 step program out there for that?

DH... closet Disney fan! I did not realize this until our trip in March, but, man, can disney bring out the kid in him. the pictures that I have of him joking around with Goofy are some of my favorite of our March trip. In the real world, he is an Army officer, so it is great to see him let go and have fun with our girls! He loves XBOX 360, sports and any outside activity!


DD6 #1 and #2... thing 1 and thing 2, just kidding! My two oldest princesses are identical twins. I am introducing them together because they are so much alike it is scary! They are both entering 1st grade in the fall and love all things girlie. They are into all things Disney from Little Einstens to Princesses to Camp Rock, we have it all going in our house!

DD4 princess #3... She is 4 going on 14 and loves to do everything her sisters are doing, whether they want her to or not! Loves Little Einsteins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, princesses, Hannah and WALL E. She does a mean WALL E impersonation!

MIL and FIL... both are retired. FIL is much better at this than MIL. She finds every excuse possible to go back to her office to "help out" . Someday we hope she will learn how to finally enjoy her well deserved retirement! Both have been to Magic Kingdom as a day trip during a college football bowl game trip a few years back, but that is the extent of their time at Disney. They are usually up for anything and love to be along for the ride when the grandkids are involved. We will be celebrating my MIL's 65th birthday on the 3rd day of our trip.

SIL... DH's older sister. She works for a software company and loves to work. I love her to pieces, but she is a bit *ahem* PICKY. MySIL is not really the Disney type, I know! How can anyone not be the Disney type?!! She doesn't like crowds, rides, heat, bugs... most things that go hand in hand with Disney. She will definitely enjoy the drinks at EPCOT and the princeses. Beyond that, we'll see. This will be the ultimate challenge on our trip... turn her into a Disney lover!

BIL... DH to SIL, he works in finance at a corporate headquarters. The most laid back guy you can imagine. He and my SIL are an unlikely pair, to say the least, but it seems to work. He LOVES to golf, so I am hoping to get him on a course at least once during our trip.
2 more princesses...
DNiece7... She is super girly and borderline prissy, but she is sweet as can be when she is not being overly bossy. the kid has a crazy combination of traits going here! She is 7 going on 27, definitely the oldest 7 year old I have ever known. She loves Hannah and HSM, but will be way in to the princesses.

DNiece4... Just turned 4 but has the vocabulary of a 20 year old! She is a pretty funny kid. However, she has a tendency to get her way with her parents and grandparents and that can get a little annoying sometimes. She has for the last two years of her life wanted nothing to do with anything but Dora, but has recently fallen in love with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse . She will be so excited to meet Mickey!

So, there you have it. The cast of characters for this adventure. Can't wait to see if there are any award winning performances!!!

Up next... our past Disney experiences and pictures!!![/SIZE[/SIZE]]

 

[mkluvsmickey]

I'm in - this sounds like it will be a fun trip!

 

[hmdavid]

I'm in - this sounds like it will be a fun trip!

Yay! My first reader on my first ever trip report! Thanks for coming on board!

I certainly hope it will be a fun trip!

 

[hmdavid]

As I mentioned earlier, DH is in the Army. In 2000, his job sent us to Germany for a few years. Neither of us had been to Disneyland or WDW as children, I know... we were quite deprived. Because of this deprivation, visiting Disneyland Paris was high on my list of places to see and things to do in Europe. Finally in September of 2003, I made my first trip to a Disney park! It was a whirlwind trip to celebrate our 4th anniversary that included sightseeing in Paris and one day at Disneyland. Our twins were 15 months old at the time, so it wasn't excatly a romantic trip to the City of Lights! Besides having two toddlers along, I had just found out that I was pregnant with our 3rd and wasn't feeling the greatest . However, we have great memories of the girls chasing pigeons all over Paris! As for Disneyland Paris, I am glad we went, but now that we have been to WDW, I don't need to go again! We have had at least three computers since that trip, and the photos are saved on a disc somwhere. As soon as I find the disc, I will post a couple of pics of that trip!

Fast forward to 2008 and I finally am able to talk DH into taking the girlies to WDW!!! Our trip in March was really last minute and I only had three weeks to "officially" plan . The most logical choice to go was during spring break. It is cold where we live well into spring, so we needed to feel the warmth of the sun! However, months earlier we had bought tickets to see Bon Jovi in concert and the concert fell smack dab in the middle of our spring break week. No worries... I had no problem taking my Kindergarteners out of school for c ouple of days the week before spring break so that we could do both our trip and the concert !

I am sure that many of you who are planning obsessed (like I am now!) are still sweating the three week planning period. Amazingly, I stumbled upon the DIS during this time and it helped me tremendously! In three weeks time, I was able to get an AWESOME deal on airfare for the 5 of us, secure reservations at Shades of Green, make BBB appointments for the little princesses AND ordered the kiddos custom Minnie outfits from Ebay! Good thing I had been preparing for this vacation long before I got the official ok!!!

Our trip was awesome but as soon as we got back I knew that we had to do it again soon! We were sooooo not commando tourists while we were there. We took two days off to swim and hang out, only visited Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom and went to Sea World. We also attended a Pirate and Princess Party which was the highlight of the trip! We dubbed it the Pirate, Princess and Poncho Party because it rained pretty much the whole night, but it was so fun! I will never forget my little princesses dancing and twirling across the bridge next to the castle with no one else around... magical! We had such a great trip, but there was still so much to see and do at Disney that we had not done.



Coming up... Why we decided to take on the World (and the inlaws) in September, and the pics that I promised earlier!!!

 

[Lady Lallie]

I am going to join in!! I am excited to hear more.

 

[jtlrcorr]

Ok- I'm in. you hooked me already!

 

[coconutsunshine]

I'm hooked.. can't wait for more

 

[hmdavid]

More readers!!!

I will post the next exciting chapter soon. We have been crazy busy with company. We live on a lake and everyone and their dog (literally) wants to visit in the summer! More to come in the next 24 hours...

 

[disney-inspired]

Tagging along for the ride

 

[hmdavid]

As promised earlier, here are a few pics of past Disney experiences...

September 2003
DH and twin DD's (15 months old) at Disneyland Paris... sorry it is so small, I could only get it to resize to the tiny pic!

Not a great picture, but most of our pictures from that trip were film pictures and have been eaten by a cardboard box. I always say I am going to organize all of our old photos but never get to it. Maybe this will motivate me to get them organized so that I can scan a few in for you to see!

Fast forward... March 2008
Pirate, Princess and Poncho Party

It didn't rain the WHOLE night... it was only sprinkling in this pic!

Walking out with Minnie

When the clock strikes 12 all princesses must leave the ball

All of us at MK... once again an issue resizing!

There's a few photos to get things rolling. More pictures to come...

 

[hmdavid]

Tagging along for the ride

Welcome aboard!

 

[coconutsunshine]

Yay Pics!! Your girls are adorable, you can tell that no matter how small the pics are!!

Can't wait for more!

 

[disney-inspired]

Your girls are adorable! I love the picture of the three princesses leaving MK

 

[hmdavid]

Yay Pics!! Your girls are adorable, you can tell that no matter how small the pics are!!

Can't wait for more!

Thanks! They are pretty cute... most of the time

Your girls are adorable! I love the picture of the three princesses leaving MK

That is one of my favorite pics from the whole trip! It was past midnight and they were still ready to party more. Seems they take after me!

 

[Aurora410]

Great report so far! Looking forward to hearing more.

 

[hmdavid]

Great report so far! Looking forward to hearing more.

Thanks for joining in the fun! I will post more of our plans this weekend.

 

[cjemscott]

I'm in! This is my first pre-trip to follow....I have two sons and like to hear the princess stories! Great so far!

 

[Alysa]

Cute girls! Love the report so far! We had our honeymoon in Paris! I'd love to take our kids though when they are a little bigger. Can't wait to hear more!

 

[hmdavid]

I'm in! This is my first pre-trip to follow....I have two sons and like to hear the princess stories! Great so far!

Welcome to the party fellow NK fan!

Cute girls! Love the report so far! We had our honeymoon in Paris! I'd love to take our kids though when they are a little bigger. Can't wait to hear more!

Honeymooning in Paris must have been amazing! I hope to go there someday without the kids to truly experience the romance!

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. It will happen this week. I spent the last week touring the Midwest and am trying to get caught up since we are finally home. Latest news is that we think we are moving... probably a couple of days after we get back from our Disney trip! AAAAGHHHHH... it never ends!!! I'll update more later. Have a good day!