We just returned from 9 days and 8 nights at Walt Disney World. We had a wonderful time, and are sad for it to be over.
This is my first trip report, so bear with me!! In this report, i'll share our expieriences with what should basically be considered as a group of newbies to WDW. Thanks to those here on the DIS, we were well informed on how to make this trip magical. But we still made a few mistakes. So join in with me as I relive the details of our trip.
Here's the details for those who haven't made it over to my PTR.....
WHO: 8 of us, spanning three generations.
There is me, Lauren. I'm a travel coordinator for a local family and
their pilots. You could basically decribe this as a personal travel
agent/ personal assistant/ accounting rep.
This year i turned 25 for the 5th time. I've previously been to WDW
three times, the last of which was in 1989. Therefore i consider myself
a Disney newbie.
I did most of the planning for this trip. I was so greatful for all the
information available here on the boards. without it i think i would
have pulled all of my hair out. I definetely wouldn't have been able to
get as much done as we did. My favorite Disney movies are
Aristocats, Mary Poppins, and Pete's Dragon.
Chris, my DH, is a couple years younger than me. He is a soux chef at
Flemings Prime Steakhouse. Yum!! Don't have one near you? Think of
Ruth's Chris. It similar to that but in my opinion way better!
This was his very first trip to Disney World. Becaue he didn't have any
Magical memories from his childhood, he didn't necessarily get my
excitement. But he went along with the plan becuase that's just what
kind of awesome dad and hubby he is. He is a fan of Eeyore.[/SIZE] [/SIZE]
here's a pic of us with my aunt and uncle. it's from a couple years ago, but you get the drift.
Maya is my dear 4 year old. She is quite
independent. And has to be
the best big sister ever. She is loving, emotional, friendly, sneaky,
cheerful, stubborn, and as silly as can be. I'd generally describe her
as a really good child who has her moments when she gets tired.
This was her first trip to WDW. We told her we were going 10 weeks
out, and she was beyond excited. We spent many evenings on
youtube watching videos of the rides. We also scouted out the
characters that we would possibly see. I think she told everyone she
saw, stranger or not, just how many more sleeps we had until we left. Her current favorites
are Ariel, Cinderella, and wizards of waverly place.
here's my independent daughter. yes, she dressed herself that day. and she does have on shorts.
oh, and she's also in a i'll pose if i want to, when i want to phase.
My sweet baby boy, James, turned 9 months at
the beginning of our
trip. He's a baby of extremes. He's either super happy with the
biggest smile on his face, or a huge grump. He loves to be held and
hates to nap. I really wasn't sure how he would do on this trip, and
was greatful to have extra helping hands if we needed.
these are both from around june or july
I'll call the rest the supporting cast. They will be included in this
trip but i'll be the only one supplying details and opinions, so that's
the title they get
First there are the grands- Nonni and PawPaw, my parents. They last
went to Disney in 1989, with me. They do everything they can to
help us out and are the most doting grandparents. They were so
excited to be able to share in their grandkids first Disney memories.
there's also my sister, Jenny. Again, the last trip was in 1989. And
finally, her son, Cayden, age 3. It was his first trip.
here's Cayden from a month or so ago.
When: Tuesday, October 27th to Wednesday, November 4th
Our dates included both Food and Wine and the MNSSHP
Where: Saratoga Springs Resort
After much deliberation, it was decided that it would be best to have
a villa for our group rather than 2 or 3 rooms. That would allow the
adults to be able to leave the rooms if the kids were sleeping.
Why: We had been discussing this trip for a year or so, but never really put
anything in the works. We knew that we wanted to go before my
daughter was in kindergarten, so we could take advantage of the off
season temperatures and crowds. Christmas was out of the running,
due to work schedules in our group. We were looking at September
or January 2010. In August, we saw very low airfares to Orlando
from our hometown. We checked our schedules, priced out the free
dining verses other discounts for our particular group, and we
measured our kids. we decided to jump on it for October 27, 2009.
That left less than 3 months for newbie planning. But it meant we
would have free dining, MNSSHP, and food and wine to experience.
Next up: Travel Day!!!
This is my first trip report, so bear with me!! In this report, i'll share our expieriences with what should basically be considered as a group of newbies to WDW. Thanks to those here on the DIS, we were well informed on how to make this trip magical. But we still made a few mistakes. So join in with me as I relive the details of our trip.
Here's the details for those who haven't made it over to my PTR.....
WHO: 8 of us, spanning three generations.
There is me, Lauren. I'm a travel coordinator for a local family and
their pilots. You could basically decribe this as a personal travel
agent/ personal assistant/ accounting rep.
This year i turned 25 for the 5th time. I've previously been to WDW
three times, the last of which was in 1989. Therefore i consider myself
a Disney newbie.
I did most of the planning for this trip. I was so greatful for all the
information available here on the boards. without it i think i would
have pulled all of my hair out. I definetely wouldn't have been able to
get as much done as we did. My favorite Disney movies are
Aristocats, Mary Poppins, and Pete's Dragon.
Chris, my DH, is a couple years younger than me. He is a soux chef at
Flemings Prime Steakhouse. Yum!! Don't have one near you? Think of
Ruth's Chris. It similar to that but in my opinion way better!
This was his very first trip to Disney World. Becaue he didn't have any
Magical memories from his childhood, he didn't necessarily get my
excitement. But he went along with the plan becuase that's just what
kind of awesome dad and hubby he is. He is a fan of Eeyore.[/SIZE] [/SIZE]
here's a pic of us with my aunt and uncle. it's from a couple years ago, but you get the drift.
Maya is my dear 4 year old. She is quite
independent. And has to be
the best big sister ever. She is loving, emotional, friendly, sneaky,
cheerful, stubborn, and as silly as can be. I'd generally describe her
as a really good child who has her moments when she gets tired.
This was her first trip to WDW. We told her we were going 10 weeks
out, and she was beyond excited. We spent many evenings on
youtube watching videos of the rides. We also scouted out the
characters that we would possibly see. I think she told everyone she
saw, stranger or not, just how many more sleeps we had until we left. Her current favorites
are Ariel, Cinderella, and wizards of waverly place.
here's my independent daughter. yes, she dressed herself that day. and she does have on shorts.
oh, and she's also in a i'll pose if i want to, when i want to phase.
My sweet baby boy, James, turned 9 months at
the beginning of our
trip. He's a baby of extremes. He's either super happy with the
biggest smile on his face, or a huge grump. He loves to be held and
hates to nap. I really wasn't sure how he would do on this trip, and
was greatful to have extra helping hands if we needed.
these are both from around june or july
I'll call the rest the supporting cast. They will be included in this
trip but i'll be the only one supplying details and opinions, so that's
the title they get
First there are the grands- Nonni and PawPaw, my parents. They last
went to Disney in 1989, with me. They do everything they can to
help us out and are the most doting grandparents. They were so
excited to be able to share in their grandkids first Disney memories.
there's also my sister, Jenny. Again, the last trip was in 1989. And
finally, her son, Cayden, age 3. It was his first trip.
here's Cayden from a month or so ago.
When: Tuesday, October 27th to Wednesday, November 4th
Our dates included both Food and Wine and the MNSSHP
Where: Saratoga Springs Resort
After much deliberation, it was decided that it would be best to have
a villa for our group rather than 2 or 3 rooms. That would allow the
adults to be able to leave the rooms if the kids were sleeping.
Why: We had been discussing this trip for a year or so, but never really put
anything in the works. We knew that we wanted to go before my
daughter was in kindergarten, so we could take advantage of the off
season temperatures and crowds. Christmas was out of the running,
due to work schedules in our group. We were looking at September
or January 2010. In August, we saw very low airfares to Orlando
from our hometown. We checked our schedules, priced out the free
dining verses other discounts for our particular group, and we
measured our kids. we decided to jump on it for October 27, 2009.
That left less than 3 months for newbie planning. But it meant we
would have free dining, MNSSHP, and food and wine to experience.
Next up: Travel Day!!!
I'm 1st!!!!! I'll be following along!!!!! Great start!!!!!
) more per ticket. Well, I'm not sure if it was because our flight had not left yet, or if the woman wasn't sure what she was doing, but we only got charged $50/ticket. Whew! I can live with that. 
The original reservation was all 7 of us under one reservation number. Because some of our group were on the flight, and some were not, we had to be separated out and put into a second reservation number. So she did this and charged me my baggage and change fees. Well, first she did this backwards. She had the wrong people on the plane and the wrong people standing in front of her. Then she started over. Refund, recharge, etc, etc. Then she wasn't able to print a boarding pass for me. somehow the system had it that I checked in on the flight. She had to call the gate and get that straightened out. 
I'm assuming they filled your seats with stand-by flyers??? 
