-Hope-
Always dreaming of adventure...
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2009
- Messages
- 2,968
Well, I just finished up my TR from last fall. It was supposed to be our once-in-a-lifetime trip to Disney... but now we're going back this fall. 
I'm really not sure how this happened. I never intended to become a Disney addict- but isn't that what happens to all addicts, they get that first taste and then it's all downhill from there.
And of course I have my very own Disney pusher making sure I don't recover from this addiction. (Ahem, Karen!)
So, here I am planning another trip. Let me give you a little background.
Who
Me: The obsessive planner, Hope, who has as much fun planning for a trip as actually going on one. The planning is actually one of the big draws of Disney for me. I love to travel and have several mini-vacations sprinkled throughout the year. I love going to new places and doing new things so I never intended to spend more than one of my precious vacations at Disney. It's a big world out there and I've always felt that there's too much to see to keep going back to the same place. But none of those other places offer the amount of active planning that Disney does and that just sucks me back in. Plus there are things we missed on our first trip that we really want to see.
Besides planning vacations I also love photography, writing and homeschooling my kids.
I'm the photographer and don't have any pics of me alone so you get PP pic of me with the family...
DS 11 (will be 12 on the trip): Jace is a pretty typical pre-teen boy. He loves video games, computers, legos and star wars. Like so many boys his age he aspires to be a video game designer but unlike lots of other boys he's already actively designing games. Just yesterday he told me he was the 15th most popular designer on a flash game site that includes thousands of people.
A couple of the big highlights of our trip for Jace were Jedi Training Academy and the Lego store at DTD.
DD 10 (will be 11 on the trip): Kya is 10 going on 16. She likes to call herself a girly tomboy because she loves clothes, hair, make-up and music but also likes to be outside and isn't afraid to get dirty and messy. She is never afraid to be herself and is more confident and sure of herself at the age of 10 than I was at 30. She is obsessed with France and really wants to learn French and visit Paris so the France pavillion at WS was one of her favorite parts of the trip. Here she is with the hand-painted umbrella she bought there and it's still one of her favorite souvenirs.
Our first trip included our entire family: me, dh and the kids. Dh wasn't as enamored by Disney as the kids and I so he won't be coming along this time. I was disappointed at first but honestly I think I'll have a better time without worrying about the fact that he isn't having a good time.
My parents were invited the first time but ended up not coming due to finances and my dad not really being enamored with the idea. We've invited my mom, Bobbi, to come again this time but she hasn't really commented one way or the other. My dad just got a new job and I think she's waiting to see how that turns out before she makes a decision. I hope she goes because her big love is her family, especially her grandkids, and I think she'd really enjoy seeing the kids get lost in the magic. Here she is with Jace at our Disney Give a Day volunteer activity last year.
Update: My mom has opted to go with us on a trip to Chicago over the summer so she won't be going to Disney with us, looks like its just me and the kiddos.
When
Sometime in October. I don't have specific dates yet because we are waiting for the release of Homeschool Days. Waiting and uncertainty for dates is very difficult for me! I want to start planning my itinerary (yes, I know that's a bit crazy considering that I have months to do it- that's why I call myself an obsessive planner).
Update: We'll be leaving on October 1 for our October 2-7 stay.
How long
Again, I'm not sure. We'll either do 3 day hoppers or 4 day non-hoppers. I can't really make that decision though until I know our dates and consult TP and TGM.
ETA: We'll be doing 4 day hoppers... not an original option but I have my reasons.
Where
I'm leaning toward a place called Continental Plaza Hotel Kissimmee. There's really nothing special about it but it's close to the parks, has free breakfast, free wi-fi, a nice pool and free shuttle to the parks. It's also only $42/night and has decent reviews. My mom is a AAA member though so if we can find a better deal with the same amenities we'll take it.
We stayed onsite at All Star Music for our last trip but I wasn't all that impressed with the facilities. The theming was fun but the room was cramped, the buses took forever and we had a long walk to our room from the buses. It was clean and friendly plus we had free dining so that was a good reason to stay on site but this trip is being done on the cheap and we can't afford free dining.
Still can't afford free dining but thanks to a 35% off Pin Code we will be staying onsite- this time at POP Century!
How we're getting there
We will be driving this time. We flew on our trip last September but it was expensive, we live two hours from the airport, we did a transfer to save money and my daughter had a panic attack both going and coming home. It is not worth it, we'll save money and drive.
We live about 17 hours from Disney though (and that doesn't include stops) so we'll have to stop for the night on the way down and on the way home. Those nights aren't taking away any of our time at Disney though so it's no problem. And gas, hotel and food for the drive are still way cheaper than flying.
I'm really not sure how this happened. I never intended to become a Disney addict- but isn't that what happens to all addicts, they get that first taste and then it's all downhill from there.
And of course I have my very own Disney pusher making sure I don't recover from this addiction. (Ahem, Karen!)So, here I am planning another trip. Let me give you a little background.
Who
Me: The obsessive planner, Hope, who has as much fun planning for a trip as actually going on one. The planning is actually one of the big draws of Disney for me. I love to travel and have several mini-vacations sprinkled throughout the year. I love going to new places and doing new things so I never intended to spend more than one of my precious vacations at Disney. It's a big world out there and I've always felt that there's too much to see to keep going back to the same place. But none of those other places offer the amount of active planning that Disney does and that just sucks me back in. Plus there are things we missed on our first trip that we really want to see.
Besides planning vacations I also love photography, writing and homeschooling my kids.
I'm the photographer and don't have any pics of me alone so you get PP pic of me with the family...
DS 11 (will be 12 on the trip): Jace is a pretty typical pre-teen boy. He loves video games, computers, legos and star wars. Like so many boys his age he aspires to be a video game designer but unlike lots of other boys he's already actively designing games. Just yesterday he told me he was the 15th most popular designer on a flash game site that includes thousands of people.
A couple of the big highlights of our trip for Jace were Jedi Training Academy and the Lego store at DTD.
DD 10 (will be 11 on the trip): Kya is 10 going on 16. She likes to call herself a girly tomboy because she loves clothes, hair, make-up and music but also likes to be outside and isn't afraid to get dirty and messy. She is never afraid to be herself and is more confident and sure of herself at the age of 10 than I was at 30.
She is obsessed with France and really wants to learn French and visit Paris so the France pavillion at WS was one of her favorite parts of the trip. Here she is with the hand-painted umbrella she bought there and it's still one of her favorite souvenirs.
Our first trip included our entire family: me, dh and the kids. Dh wasn't as enamored by Disney as the kids and I so he won't be coming along this time. I was disappointed at first but honestly I think I'll have a better time without worrying about the fact that he isn't having a good time.
My parents were invited the first time but ended up not coming due to finances and my dad not really being enamored with the idea. We've invited my mom, Bobbi, to come again this time but she hasn't really commented one way or the other. My dad just got a new job and I think she's waiting to see how that turns out before she makes a decision. I hope she goes because her big love is her family, especially her grandkids, and I think she'd really enjoy seeing the kids get lost in the magic.
Here she is with Jace at our Disney Give a Day volunteer activity last year.
Update: My mom has opted to go with us on a trip to Chicago over the summer so she won't be going to Disney with us, looks like its just me and the kiddos.
When
Sometime in October. I don't have specific dates yet because we are waiting for the release of Homeschool Days. Waiting and uncertainty for dates is very difficult for me! I want to start planning my itinerary (yes, I know that's a bit crazy considering that I have months to do it- that's why I call myself an obsessive planner).
Update: We'll be leaving on October 1 for our October 2-7 stay.
How long
Again, I'm not sure. We'll either do 3 day hoppers or 4 day non-hoppers. I can't really make that decision though until I know our dates and consult TP and TGM.
ETA: We'll be doing 4 day hoppers... not an original option but I have my reasons.
Where
I'm leaning toward a place called Continental Plaza Hotel Kissimmee. There's really nothing special about it but it's close to the parks, has free breakfast, free wi-fi, a nice pool and free shuttle to the parks. It's also only $42/night and has decent reviews. My mom is a AAA member though so if we can find a better deal with the same amenities we'll take it.
We stayed onsite at All Star Music for our last trip but I wasn't all that impressed with the facilities. The theming was fun but the room was cramped, the buses took forever and we had a long walk to our room from the buses. It was clean and friendly plus we had free dining so that was a good reason to stay on site but this trip is being done on the cheap and we can't afford free dining.
Still can't afford free dining but thanks to a 35% off Pin Code we will be staying onsite- this time at POP Century!
How we're getting there
We will be driving this time. We flew on our trip last September but it was expensive, we live two hours from the airport, we did a transfer to save money and my daughter had a panic attack both going and coming home. It is not worth it, we'll save money and drive.
We live about 17 hours from Disney though (and that doesn't include stops) so we'll have to stop for the night on the way down and on the way home. Those nights aren't taking away any of our time at Disney though so it's no problem. And gas, hotel and food for the drive are still way cheaper than flying.
and glad you enjoyed it. 
