Earmuffs in June? Update 7/5 Trip Report Link!

[teachermommy78]

Hi everyone!

This is my first PTR (considering I just joined a couple weeks ago, not so bad! ) I'm trying to contain my excitement and the desire to spill my guts about EVERYTHING in two posts. Trying. To. Take. It. SLOOOW!

I am going to need lots of advice and perhaps some hand holding, so if you are able, please join me! I can't promise to be entertaining, but I need some new DIS friends!

Going by what I have learned about these things, introduction of my lovely cast is the first post, right?

Me (Stacey) 31
I'm a mommy, wife, and teacher of some cute 3rd and 4th graders. Life is certainly not boring. I don't get a whole lot of adult conversation between school and home, so at times I get a little stir crazy, but I love it! This is a picture of my daughter and I (I'll introduce her later)

Scott 32
The dad! Scott and I got married young. I was only 21 and he was 22. We honeymooned on the Disney Wonder the first year it sailed. We also stayed at Wilderness Lodge for a few days. It was a great vacation, but really cold. Even in the Caribbean! Everyone was wearing coats on the cruise much of the time.

Sophie 7 (will be almost 8 on the trip)
She is in 2nd grade and full of spunk around the family. In public, a little bit shy. She's also a gymnast. This year she practices in the gym 7 hours a week.

Ethan 5 (will be almost 6 on the trip)
Ethan and Sophie are 2 years and 1 day apart! They will both be about a month shy of their bdays on the trip. Ethan is in kindergarten, and just the sweetest thing. He does have a hard time being the middle child and acts out for attention a bit, but he's definitely the most snuggly of the bunch!

Finn 3
Finn is short for "Griffin," but no one calls him that. It's either "Finn" or "Griffie." He is the baby of the family. Sophie is his little babysitter. He's a lot of fun, and I can't wait to bring him back to Mickey! (he was 6 months last time we were there). Sorry about the thank you card picture. It was the most recent I had!

The other two in our immediate party are my mother in law and father in law. However, that's not it. There are about 30 people TOTAL going on this trip with us!

I'll explain all that in my next installment!

Please join me! Remember, the no adult interaction thing? I need some friends! Even if they are cyber friends!

 

[teachermommy78]

Table of Contents: (under construction)

 

[PirateKate]

Hi! What a beautiful family! Your kids are adorable. I am very curious to hear about this going with 30 people thing. You all aren't going to be dressing in bright yellow and pretending to be Brazilian, are you?

I was only 21 when I got married, too. We honeymooned at Coronado Springs. I bet the Wonder was really cool when it was new.

 

[crzy4my2]

WOW..30 people!! You are VERY brave! I hope you are staying a t a different hotel then the rest of your party..LOL



BTW, your kids are adorable.

 

[newmommy_2010]

I am here & look forward to hearing more! Your kids are adorable!

 

[teachermommy78]

Hi! What a beautiful family! Your kids are adorable. I am very curious to hear about this going with 30 people thing. You all aren't going to be dressing in bright yellow and pretending to be Brazilian, are you?

I was only 21 when I got married, too. We honeymooned at Coronado Springs. I bet the Wonder was really cool when it was new.

Thank you so much!!! I am quite fond of my offspring. I have always wanted to stay at Coronado Springs! The Wonder was really cool. Literally. We got married a week before Christmas in 1999, so when we honeymooned, we were at DW right before Christmas and on the ship for Christmas. On a VERY positive note, the parks were EMPTY. Wait times for rides were 10 minutes or less. For Christmas week, this is AMAZING! The reason? It was the week before the Millennium. I guess everyone figured that if they were going to go to DW during that break, they were going for New Year's. Worked for us! #1 regret is not getting our faces on those plaques at Epcot. We hemmed and hawed over and it and didn't do it. The bad part of the trip was the temperature. It was COLD. In our youngness, neither of us had discovered weather channels. We didn't pack coats. So, we bought sweatshirts and layered up. On the ship, it was the first time since the cruise began that sweatshirts were ever needed at Castaway Cay. Oh well. The cruise was also empty. Lots was cancelled due to lack of attendance. But we still had fun and were treated like GOLD. I'd like to forgo our every 3 year DW trip and possible wait for 5 to do a cruise one year!

WOW..30 people!! You are VERY brave! I hope you are staying a t a different hotel then the rest of your party..LOL



BTW, your kids are adorable.

We are very brave, but I'm not sure if that braveness will hold up in June!

I am here & look forward to hearing more! Your kids are adorable!

Thank you for joining! I'm so excited to have some friendly faces here! And thank you for your compliment! They are super sweet kiddos!

 

[teachermommy78]

We have a plan to save all of our tax refunds for 3 years and go on a big vacation (we go on yearly trips locally). As of right now, the plan is Disney. We all love it, so why not! We went 3 years ago when the kids were 4, 2, and 6 months old. It was a BLAST! That trip was also with my MIL and FIL. My BIL and SIL and their two daughters (ages 7 and 9 at the time) also joined us. I may do a mini TR of that trip later. I like to share pictures!

Scott has two cousins who are Disney fanatics. You know, those weird people who obsess over planning? We've thrown around the idea of a huge trip with both of their families and us for awhile, but they both usually go during low attendance times and never the summer.

Let me backtrack. I would LOVE to go during non peak times. Sophie and Ethan go to a top of the line Chicago Public School (I know...I know...you thought you might NEVER hear those two words in the same sentence). One of their HARD rules is that unexcused absences are UNACCEPTABLE. As a teacher and mom, I am all for vacations mid year. I feel like the kids will gain way more from a trip with family than that one week of school. But, we are rule followers. The rules state that if you miss for reasons other than sickness or death in the family, you lose any awards gained during the year. HUGE controversy over this one, but I pick my battles. In the future I may be tempted to just do it, but for now, we play by the rules.

OK. Back to how this came to be. As we started planning the trip, the fanatic cousins had a change of heart. They decided it would be fun for us all to go together. We are a very tight knit family and all the cousins take good care of each other.

Well, it orginally started with just the cousins, their families, and us. It has grown. Oh, how it has grown. Here is the extended cast. I would put pictures, but A.) I don't want them to think I'm nuts by talking about them on a public forum, and B.) I don't want to use their pictures without permission in a public forum.

Family 1:
Jim (dad), Chris (mom), Emily 14, and Edward 9

Family 2: Uncle Ron and Aunt Judy (Jim's Parents)

Family 3:
Dave (dad), Sue (mom), Kayla 12, and AJ 9

Family 4:
Aunt Nancy and Rich (Dave's mom and SO)

Family 5:
Lynne (mom), Jaclyn (23). Jaclyn has Down Syndrome and hangs out with the kiddos, so I include her as a kid

Family 6: Us...all 7 of us

That is 21...then there's the possibility of the 4th branch of the family plus Jim's brother/fiance which will bring the total to 27. Since this a PTR (sorry about the misplacement of this thread again!), these numbers could change. The first 6 groups have booked. The rest are still deciding. So we'll either have 21 or somewhere up to 27. Yes, I rounded when I said we had 30

Up Next: Where are we going to PUT all these people?

 

[taymacsmom]

Hi Stacey! I am here and looking forward to hearing all of the details of your "huge" trip! Your children are gorgeous! I love, love their names. I just told my DH that I wanted one more little boy so I could name him Finn. What? That's not a good reason to have another baby! Anyway, nice to "meet" you and I promise to stick with you and comment whenever I can!

Kelly

 

[teachermommy78]

Hi Stacey! I am here and looking forward to hearing all of the details of your "huge" trip! Your children are gorgeous! I love, love their names. I just told my DH that I wanted one more little boy so I could name him Finn. What? That's not a good reason to have another baby! Anyway, nice to "meet" you and I promise to stick with you and comment whenever I can!

Kelly

Aw thanks!!! I want another girl and name her Hannah.My dh feels the same as yours!

 

[tina.tina]

Adorable kids!!!! I always think the more the merrier- I hope that holds true for your trip!

 

[teachermommy78]

Adorable kids!!!! I always think the more the merrier- I hope that holds true for your trip!

I hope so! I'm hoping that with several "planner" in the group that we can all just try to be flexible!!! And thank you! They get their cuteness from their daddy.

 

[micandminforever]

I am joining in to see how a group of 30 is handled. We might try a family trip to Disney next year. We have had 25 at the beach before, but the most at disney has been 14.

 

[francis6306]

Ahh... your trip sounds like it will be a lot of fun! I don't know if I could handle my In-Law's for that long, but clearly, you have a good relationship! We just got back from Disney (wel, in DEC) and we had 3 families go with us. My biggest piece of advise, is plan to be apart! Don't feel like everyone or even some need to be together the WHOLE trip!!!! I promise, you will be so much happier! Plan meals or events together, but allow everyone to do their own "thing" in the parks! We came together and split up several times with our "group" and it was so nice for everyone to feel like they just happened to meet up instead of feeling stuck, you know? Can't wait for more of your PTR!

 

[teachermommy78]

I am joining in to see how a group of 30 is handled. We might try a family trip to Disney next year. We have had 25 at the beach before, but the most at disney has been 14.

You can learn along with me! Thanks for joining!

Ahh... your trip sounds like it will be a lot of fun! I don't know if I could handle my In-Law's for that long, but clearly, you have a good relationship! We just got back from Disney (wel, in DEC) and we had 3 families go with us. My biggest piece of advise, is plan to be apart! Don't feel like everyone or even some need to be together the WHOLE trip!!!! I promise, you will be so much happier! Plan meals or events together, but allow everyone to do their own "thing" in the parks! We came together and split up several times with our "group" and it was so nice for everyone to feel like they just happened to meet up instead of feeling stuck, you know? Can't wait for more of your PTR!

Fantastic advice! Keep it coming! You'll see in the upcoming posts that we have already decided to do lots of splitting up. I see you have some TRs. I think I'll join to learn more! And as for handling the inlaws, sometimes I'm a lot less patient than I should be. My MIL is our biggest blessing. She has watched all three of our kids while I teach (for free) and she just does all she can for us. The world couldn't have a sweeter lady. That being said, sometimes "sweetness" can get annoying too! Especially when it is SO DANG SINCERE!

 

[teachermommy78]

From this point on, I'm going to think of my group as a group of 21 instead of 30. The rest of the family is very hesitant about booking. If they do, it's a bonus! Otherwise at least I'm not getting all psyched up about them coming and then being disappointed when they don't.

SOOOOOOO...are we all staying together? All 21 of us?

Nope.

That's a good thing. Whereas my kids will be separated from their cousins and are sad about that, it takes lots of pressure off of me. So, here are the plans.

My family of 5 will have a room at Port Orleans Riverside. It will sleep 5, and Sophie is VERY excited about the trundle bed. Scott and I will each have a boy in our beds. How romantic, huh? And I am SOOOOO excited to try this place! We stayed at Wilderness Lodge for our Honeymoon and then went complete opposite with All Stars in 2008. Now we'll try the moderate route! Hopefully we like it, because it's the most cost effective place with a family of 5!

Side Note: 3 years ago, we stayed at All Star Movie. My mom was with us, and booked with my inlaws, but stayed in our room. So she had Sophie in her bed with her, Scott and I had Ethan in our bed, and Finn was in a pack n play. THAT was crowded! And yes, I know...rule breaking. But she just didn't feel comfortable sharing with my in laws and the kids were all too young to want to stay away from us. I do think Scott snuck in there one night, though!

Back to the plans.

My family of 5- Port Orleans Riverside

MIL and FIL- Port Orleans Riverside

Uncle Ron and Aunt Judy Port Orleans Riverside (and Emily (14) may bunk with them because she loves Finn and takes all opportunities to snuggle him!)

The rest is at Yacht and Beach Club

We would have LOVED to stay there, but the difference between our stay and theirs was thousands of dollars. Sorry, no can do. Dave and Sue booked with a large travel agent discount since she works for Amex.

So we have definitely split up room wise. This means no one has to make anyone wait in the mornings, etc. and we can just pick a place to meet. My family of 5 plus MIL and FIL will probably travel as a unit, but otherwise we're all separate.

Next Up...Mini TR from 2008! I can't wait to share our last adventure!

 

[francis6306]

POR is on my list for future trips!!! I wanna stay there SOOOO badly!! I really tried to stay there this trip, but the rest of the group wanted to save money and stay at Pop. Since we were booking on a Pin code that I had, I didn't feel right about forcing them to change, so we just stayed at Pop! Good for you to NOT feel like you "had" to stay with the group!

 

[teachermommy78]

POR is on my list for future trips!!! I wanna stay there SOOOO badly!! I really tried to stay there this trip, but the rest of the group wanted to save money and stay at Pop. Since we were booking on a Pin code that I had, I didn't feel right about forcing them to change, so we just stayed at Pop! Good for you to NOT feel like you "had" to stay with the group!

You'll see later when I post our itinerary that we have a stay at POP stuck onto the back end of our trip. We added some extra days and couldn't afford POR for it. We booked the tail end together with my inlaws and split the two rooms. We wouldve booked the whole trip like that, but the inlaws were hesitant about POR until the end and we wanted to get it booked. When we did price it out, it would only save a few hundred to split the room at POP for the duration of the trip. We figured we'd just splurge and stay at POR. If it wasn't a good choice, we'll do the split on the next trip.

I hope we get a PIN code someday! I wonder how many I've gotten and threw out not realizing they were gold!

 

[teachermommy78]

We are under the 5 month mark!!!

 

[shocky5]

Can't wait to read more. Just posted the beginnings of my first PTR and yours caught my eye! Glad to get in on it from the beginning! Your kids are just beautiful!

Sounds like it will be a great trip for all of you!! We've only ever gone end of May, first of June and I love that time of year!! Maybe it's because it's the only time that we've ever gone...

Amy

 

[teachermommy78]

Can't wait to read more. Just posted the beginnings of my first PTR and yours caught my eye! Glad to get in on it from the beginning! Your kids are just beautiful!

Sounds like it will be a great trip for all of you!! We've only ever gone end of May, first of June and I love that time of year!! Maybe it's because it's the only time that we've ever gone...

Amy

Thank you! And thanks for joining! I'm going to check yours out now!