Finally..Just the Three of Us (w/a little guilt) PTR Nov 11

[alayne]

I tried to do a PTR for our first WDW Vacation in April 2011 but it was a flop. I was new and wasn't sure what to write. However, I have read a lot of PTRs and TRs and I really wanted to give it another try.

Hopefully this time will be better and someone will read this or at least look at the pictures.

The first thing I want to do is explain my title and why I feel a little guility for going on this trip. My DH and I are REALLY REALLY BIG DISNEY FANS. When DH asked me to marry him the first thing I said was "only if I can plan the Honeymoon". I took him to Disney and he feel in love - infact he wanted to move to FL and work at Disney (still talkes about it to this day). We went a few more times after our Honeymoon but nothing like what you see here on the DisBoards.

After 5 1/2 years of marriage we found out we were pregnant with our first child (DS Ethan). The day we found out my DH started a "Disney Fund" and I found the DisBoards. We wanted to wait for the "perfect age" (our opinion of course) which we decided was 6 but God decided it was 7. So in August 2010 I made the big announcement that we were going to Disney World for Spring Break 2011 (1st Week in April). I started planning, planning and more planning.

I created the Ultimate Disney Vacation. When my DM realized I was serious she said that she would go with us and bring my two nieces. Now I was really happy because the girls are like my Daughters. I spend a lot of time with them and I love them very, very much. I created a cute book to give to my DM with all the information related to the trip - hotel, dining package, park hopper pass, and all the extras. I also included a budget worksheet with the cost. I thought I had just caused her to have a mild heart attack. Now remember my DH and I have been planning this for 7 years and 9 months. She got 9 months notice.

The first thing she did was ask if we would want to change from CBR to Fort Wilderness and take the camper. Sure why not. Sounds like fun - camping Disney Style. Then she asked if we could change the dining plan to basic instead of deluxe and reduce the number of ADR's. Sure why not if I can pick the final ADR's since we are the big disney fans. Then she asked if we could cut several of the extras. Sure why not there is always next time. So by the end of the planning the budget had been cut over 1/2.

Now at first my DH was OK with this (remember this is my family not his). He saw this large amount of money in the "Disney Fund" after the trip was paid in full and was like WOW we can go again, and again and again. YEAH!!

Will April came and we headed out on April 1, 2011 (April Fools Day) for 9 days of Disney Magic. 3 Adults, 3 Kids and 1 Camper that sleeps 8 or so it says. I had booked the ADR's, planned the days, made the matching shirts, etc. etc. I had planned the Ultimate Disney Vacation minus a few changes made by my DM.

Let's just say that it was a Good Vacation but not the Ultimate Disney Vacation. My DN's and DM are not BIG Disney Fans so they were not as into it as we were. It was hard to keep everyone on the same page and happy at the same time. Plus it was really hard for my DH because he missed a lot of the things he loves about Disney and wanted to share with our DS in order to do things for the girls -several hours at BBB and lots and lots of shopping.

So we returned home from Disney with a little bit of disappointment. A few nights after we returned home my DH and I were laying in bed and he said "I still have 4 days of vacation left and we still have the "Disney Fund". Can you do something with that?" Of course I can do something with that. But then he said this "I will only go back if it's JUST THE THREE OF US!"

So here I am planning another Disney Vacation but this time I'm having to keep it a secret in order to make sure it's JUST THE THREE OF US. Now there is something everyone should know. My DH, DS and I have never been on a vacation where it was JUST THE THREE OF US. We always have the girls with us and most of the time even more of my family. So here is where a little guilt comes into play. I hate to leave the girls at home because deep down I really do feel like I am leaving my own kids at home. However, I know how much this trip means to my DH and how important it is to him. So this leads me to my new PTR - Finally Just the Three of Us (w/a little guilt) - November 2011.

I hope that others will join along in my OCD Disney Planning. Yes I spend hours and hours on the DisBoards planning and researching our Ultimate Disney Vacation.

 

[disneydreamgirl]

You will have a great trip! I know what you mean about 'just the three of us'. DH, DS (13) and I are a tight little unit but are part of a bigger, social and well-meaning but sometimes intrusive family. Our last two trips to WDW were with my parents and my niece(September 2009) and with DH's parents (December 2010). We love them to death and had two terrific trips that yielded lots of great memories. We are grateful that DS will have memories of 'doing Disney' with all of his grandparents... not too many kids can! That stated, we are really looking forward to October of this year with 'just the three of us' at POFQ and doing all of the things we love to do and taking it as it comes. This is our last opportunity to take DS out of school before he starts high school, so we are making the best of it.

Have a great time planning and don't feel at all guilty about keeping it to yourselves at this point and even almost up to your trip's time. I gave up guilt of this sort awhile ago and haven't looked back!

 

[alayne]

So who is Just the Three of Us.

Well there's me (Allison) 34. I'm the OCD Disney Planner. When I'm not planning our Disney Vacation I do have a full time job. I'm actually at work right now but my parents are not here to see what I'm doing. Yes, I work for my parents in our family business. My DD is a Pharmacist and we own our own Drug Store in a really small town. I work with my DM and DS. It has its ups and downs but for the most part I love what I do. I also am a Mom who loves to volunteer at school, church, sports or anything else my DS can get into. I love to scrapbook and have started to really enjoy camping with my boys.

Then there is my DH (Jeremy) 36. We are High School Sweet Hearts. He started asking me out when I was a Freshman but didn't get me to say yes until I was a Junior. He is currently the Manger for a Pest Control Company and really likes his job. He also loves playing soccer with our DS and we have started camping a lot too. He just bought a new truck and a 5th Wheeler for future trips to the Fort. My DH loves Disney as much as I do which is great.

And of course my DS (Ethan) 7. He is a WILD Little Man who has more energy then he knows what to do with. He loves to run and play. He loves soccer, riding his bike, swimming, camping, playing with the dog and all the other boy things out there. He also loves Disney and keeps asking when we are going back.

 

[alayne]

You will have a great trip! I know what you mean about 'just the three of us'. DH, DS (13) and I are a tight little unit but are part of a bigger, social and well-meaning but sometimes intrusive family. Our last two trips to WDW were with my parents and my niece(September 2009) and with DH's parents (December 2010). We love them to death and had two terrific trips that yielded lots of great memories. We are grateful that DS will have memories of 'doing Disney' with all of his grandparents... not too many kids can! That stated, we are really looking forward to October of this year with 'just the three of us' at POFQ and doing all of the things we love to do and taking it as it comes. This is our last opportunity to take DS out of school before he starts high school, so we are making the best of it.

Have a great time planning and don't feel at all guilty about keeping it to yourselves at this point and even almost up to your trip's time. I gave up guilt of this sort awhile ago and haven't looked back!

Thanks for the encouraging thoughts. I'm glad I'm not alone in looking forward to a trip with just my little family. We did have a wonderful trip and I am really glad I was able to see my DS and my two nieces enjoy Disney. I know they had a good time and I love to hear them talk about things they loved and would like to do again. I guess hearing the girls say they can't wait to go back makes this a little harder since I know we are going soon without them. As you will see if you join in on my PTR more we originally booked the POFQ but recently changed to CBR. Thanks again for taking the time to read my thread. I hope you will stay along for the journey. I can't wait to share all I have planned and would love to hear about things I may have missed. Happy Planning to you.

 

[alayne]

So after my DH told me he had 4 days of vacation left for the year and said we could use the remaining "Disney Fund" money to book another Disney Vacation I started planning. It was May and my DS only had a few more weeks of school left before summer vacation. Now we have lots of summer plans. There are at least 2 Pharmacy Conventions at the Beach each summer and my DM's side of the family always does a week at the beach in July so summer is really busy for us. Adding in camps and VBS does not leave a lot of time for a Disney Vacation. Plus I really didn't want to go to Disney in the summer because it's so HOT.

My DH does love my family (don't let him fool you) so he asked if I could work it out where he could use two days of vacation for the annual beach trip in July and the other two days for the Disney Vacation. I love my DH so I said yes I would work it out so he could do both.

I didn't want my DS to miss school so I started looking at the school calendar. I knew it had not been approved by the school board but it was a start. The only thing that looked like it would work was the week of Thanksgiving. My DS was out of school Wednesday and my DH gets Thanksgiving Day and the day after as Holiday so this was looking good.

Then my DH says "What about a Disney Cruise?" I say "Let's go for it". So I call the Travel Agent and tell her how much we have in the "Disney Fund" and what days we can travel - Nov. 23 thru Nov. 27. She found a Disney Dream Cruise for those dates and we booked it.

We have never been on a Disney Cruise so I started reading the Cruise Thread on here and learned a lot. The first thing I was told was we needed to arrive a day early (holiday weekend, chance of flight problems, etc.). I looked at the calendar and decided that my DS could miss 1 day of school so we would be able to fly in the night before. My DH would then be using his last two days of vaction for the year (Tuesday and Wednesday). So I booked a flight leaving very early Tuesday morning (Nov. 22) and called the travel agent to see if she could find us a nice place to stay where we could spend Tuesday at Epcot (my DH and DS love this park) and then take the DCL Transporation to the Disney Dream Wedneday morning.

The Travel Agent suggested POFQ with a 1 Day Park Ticket. I booked it. I started researching POFQ and decided since we only had 1 day (and not even a full day due to flight) we would focus only on the World Showcase at Epcot. It was the end of May and I had all my confirmation numbers and my planning book was almost complete.

Now we still have plenty of "Disney Funds" left after booking this trip. But remember I'm limited in the number of days because my DH only has 2 days vacation left and I just used both of them when booking this reservation.

So summer comes and I have to place Disney in the back of my mind. I don't have anyone to talk to about my trip because I'm not telling my family and my DH and I have decided to not tell our DS for 2 reasons. 1) I don't want him telling the girls now and 2) We have come up with some surprises for him.

So July comes along and we go on our annual family vacation with my DM's side of the family. 27 people in a 5 bedroom house from Saturday to Saturday. Fun, Fun, Fun. My DS and I went on Saturday with the rest of the family and my DH (using 2 of his final 4 vacation days) flew down on Wednesday when he got of from work. We were in FL and my DS asked how far we were from Disney. I had never thought about it because my DM's side of the family isn't really into Disney and doesn't have the money for Disney. But for the fun of it I mapquested it and Guess What - we were less than 2 hours away. Now I my mind is racing with how can we get there for at least a day.

When my DH arrived on Wednesday night I went to pick him up from the airport with my oldest DN11 and her fav cuz who is 12. Now my DN11 is in on my plan to get my DH to take us to Disney for the day and let me tell you she does a great job talking him into it and so we got up early Thursday morning and headed to MK for the day - me, DH, DS, DN11 and her fav cuz 12. It was HOT!!! But lots and lots of fun. It also caused me to start thinking about the trip we booked for November. It made me want more time at WDW. How was I going to go to WDW and just have enough time to see the Wold Showcase at Epcot? How could I turn my DH's last 2 days of vacation into more days? What could I do?

I pulled out the calendar and started day dreaming. We were booked Tuesday - Sunday. If I could just figure out the Monday we could have the Saturday and Sunday for free. DS would have to miss 2 days of school - but what would he really miss - I mean two days before a holiday weekend - how much could they learn?!?! See where I'm going with this!!!! Now on to my DH. I asked him what the chances are that he could take Monday without pay and he said slim to none. But then Disney Pixie Dust was sent my way. My DH said he could have Monday and I could add the extra days to our vacation.

So I changed our flight and called the Travel Agent to add more Disney Days to our vacation. We are now arriving on Nov. 19th with 4 nights at CBR and 4 nights on the Disney Dream returning home on Nov. 27th. YEAH!!! YEAH!! The best of both worlds - A Trip to WDW and A Disney Dream Cruise!!!

Now I have to get back to work. Maybe tonight I can start posting our plans and details about our upcoming Ultimate Disney Vacation.

 

[alayne]

So for anyone who is reading this I left off in my last post stating that I have added a few extra Land Days to our Sea Days. Well today I found out that there is a MVMCP on Friday, Nov. 18th. The day before we arrive on the 19th. So I did some checking and I can change our flight and add another night to our reservation. The question I'm working on is - IS IT WORTH IT?

I mean I will have to pay a small fee to change our flight, take my DS out of school early on Friday (he is already missing Monday and Tuesday), add another hotel night, add another night to the dining plan and purchase tickets. I have never been to a Disney Party before and I don't know if we will ever be this close to a Party Date again.

What do I do? What do I do? I'm also going to have to ask my DH to see if he can take another day off.

I need advice/opinions because I'm going to have to make this decision quick if I want to change our flight.

HELP!!

 

[crazy4mm]

So for anyone who is reading this I left off in my last post stating that I have added a few extra Land Days to our Sea Days. Well today I found out that there is a MVMCP on Friday, Nov. 18th. The day before we arrive on the 19th. So I did some checking and I can change our flight and add another night to our reservation. The question I'm working on is - IS IT WORTH IT?

I mean I will have to pay a small fee to change our flight, take my DS out of school early on Friday (he is already missing Monday and Tuesday), add another hotel night, add another night to the dining plan and purchase tickets. I have never been to a Disney Party before and I don't know if we will ever be this close to a Party Date again.

What do I do? What do I do? I'm also going to have to ask my DH to see if he can take another day off.

I need advice/opinions because I'm going to have to make this decision quick if I want to change our flight.

HELP!!

I don't have any real advice...but I say if you can make it happen, GO FOR IT!

Would DH be able to get out early that day instead of having to take another day off (like DS)? Maybe he can work it out with his company to work extra hours earlier in the week to make up for lost time so he doesn't have to take it witout pay? (There's got to be some perks of being the manager, right? LOL!)

Hope it works for you!

 

[disneydreamgirl]

So for anyone who is reading this I left off in my last post stating that I have added a few extra Land Days to our Sea Days. Well today I found out that there is a MVMCP on Friday, Nov. 18th. The day before we arrive on the 19th. So I did some checking and I can change our flight and add another night to our reservation. The question I'm working on is - IS IT WORTH IT?

I mean I will have to pay a small fee to change our flight, take my DS out of school early on Friday (he is already missing Monday and Tuesday), add another hotel night, add another night to the dining plan and purchase tickets. I have never been to a Disney Party before and I don't know if we will ever be this close to a Party Date again.

What do I do? What do I do? I'm also going to have to ask my DH to see if he can take another day off.

I need advice/opinions because I'm going to have to make this decision quick if I want to change our flight.

HELP!!

I've attended two MVMCP's, one in 2009 with my sister and last year with DH, DS and DH's parents...the parade is terrific, fireworks fantastic and the shows were really enjoyable. We thought it was worth it and would attend again, although after another year or two has passed. Sure, it is an extra expense, but the photo ops with characters, the low crowds and the extras (along with the things I mentioned above) made it worth it for us. I'm with the other person who has weighed in...if I could make it happen I would do it.

 

[alayne]

I don't have any real advice...but I say if you can make it happen, GO FOR IT!

Would DH be able to get out early that day instead of having to take another day off (like DS)? Maybe he can work it out with his company to work extra hours earlier in the week to make up for lost time so he doesn't have to take it witout pay? (There's got to be some perks of being the manager, right? LOL!)

Hope it works for you!

I thought so too (perks of being the manager) but not the case. It didn't work. We weren't able to get the extra days so now I have to call and cancel the extra nights. The earliest we can leave now is Monday night. I'm sitting here trying to decide what to do. My original plans when we first booked the trip was Nov. 22 (Tuesday) fly into Orlando arriving at 9:35. Check-in to the hotel and spend the rest of the day at Epcot World Showcase with dinner at Teppen Edo (DH and DS) favorite place. Then get up Wednesday morning - check-out and head to the Disney Dream for a 4 night cruise.

We are currently booked for Nov. 19 - Nov. 23 at CBR and then Disney Dream Nov. 23 - 27.

So I can't keep changing our plans and now I am really disappointed. I have to make this final and move on. If I book a late flight for Monday then we would have all day Tuesday and I could book a breakfast with Characters Meal and then Teppen Edo for dinner. When we arrive Monday we could go to DTD or just go to the room and get a good night rest and be ready for a full day Tuesday.

I don't know. I'm so !!!!

 

[alayne]

I've attended two MVMCP's, one in 2009 with my sister and last year with DH, DS and DH's parents...the parade is terrific, fireworks fantastic and the shows were really enjoyable. We thought it was worth it and would attend again, although after another year or two has passed. Sure, it is an extra expense, but the photo ops with characters, the low crowds and the extras (along with the things I mentioned above) made it worth it for us. I'm with the other person who has weighed in...if I could make it happen I would do it.

No go!!! My DH could not get the extra days off so I have to call and cancel the extra days at Disney. The earliest we can get out of here is Monday night or go back to our original plans and leave Tuesday morning. Trying to decide what to do. I was really looking forward to the extra days at the parks and I had everything planned so perfectly. Oh well. I need to be happy I'm going at all. It could be worse. So any tips if I should fly in Monday night late or first thing Tuesday morning?

 

[alayne]

So I found out today that my DH will not be able to have the extra day or days off. So the dates I have to work with are late Monday, Nov. 21 thru Sunday, Nov. 27.

Here is what I am sleeping on tonight:

Book a flight for Monday night - DH says it will have to be the 8:45 pm flight because he will have to work all day Monday and he doesn't get home until 5. We will have to leave right when he gets home.

Go from the Airport to CBR - I'm going to keep the Pirate Room for sure. Check-in to the room and get some sleep.

Tuesday Morning we already have a ADR for Ohana at 8:55 am. I'm going to keep this so my DS will at least see his two favorite characters (Stitch and Pluto).

After breakfast we will use our 1 day park tickets that we already have to spend the rest of the day at Epcot doing World Showcase. This is my DH and DS's favorite park and they love World Showcase. We can stay until the park closes and see Illuminations. I have an ADR at Teppen Edo (DH and DS favorite place to eat) at 4:00 for an early dinner.

Then we will head back to the CBR for a good night sleep.

Wednesday morning we will have breakfast at CBR Food Court - check-out and take the Disney Transportation to Port Canaveral to board the Disney Dream.

Then we will spend the rest of the week on the Disney Dream.

What do you think? I'll take any opinions I can get or suggestions about these new plans.

I will have to cancel all the other ADR's, Pirate Make Over, Pirate League Cruise, and we will not have time to do the other parks. However, DH did say that we can go back next year for Thanksgiving and take our new camper. He said we can plan better so that we can do the MVMCP and spend all the time we want at the parks. He also said that if I can't wait until Thanksgiving next year there is always Spring Break.

 

[alayne]

Well after all the hoping and praying my DH was not able to get the extra days off so I have finally booked our Final Plans without those extra days.

We are now flying into Orlando on Nov. 21, 2011. Our flight doesn't leave ATL until 8:45 pm and arrives at 10:13 pm. From the Airport we are using the Disney Transportation to CBR.

I have talked with the Disney Florist and they are going to work with me to have our room all decorated in the "Me Pirate Adventure". It is available for purchase at the end of October and just before our Thanksgiving Trip. We have a Pirate Room with Water View and I can't wait to see my DS7 face when he sees the Captain Jack Sparrow decorations. Since we are arriving very late Monday night and will only be staying two nights total I had to ask for a special arrangement regarding the "Me Pirate Adventure". Everyone that I have talked too so far has been wonderful and they promise me there want be a problem in working this out.

After checking into our room we will call it a night to get all rested up for Tuesday, Nov. 22. I have made reservations at Ohana's for 8:55 am. After breakfast we are going to Epcot to spend the remainder of the day. We hope to just do World Showcase with an early dinner (4:00 pm) at Teppen Edo. We will stay for Illuminations and then head back to the room.

On Wednesday, Nov. 23 we will use the Disney Transportation from CBR to Port Canaveral to board the Disney Dream. I have never been on a Disney Cruise so I have no idea what it's going to be like that first day.

Here is a list of our stops while on the cruise.

Nov. 23, 2011 - Port Canaveral
Nov. 24, 2011 - NASSAU
Nov. 25, 2011 - Day at Sea
Nov. 26, 2011 - Castaway Cay
Nov. 27, 2011 - Port Canaveral

We have a 2:00 pm flight home on Nov. 27th.

I'm really looking forward to the Disney Dream. I'm hoping it will be as magical as WDW. I don't have anything booked or planed for the cruise because I'm not sure what we want to do and it's not our turn to book things yet. I do have my eye on a Massage for my DH and seeing some of the shows.

Our whole trip is going to be wonderful and I can't wait.

 

[disneydreamgirl]

Checking back in on you!! Your plans sound terrific. You are arriving on my birthday, so I'll make a birthday wish for you that everything goes exactly as you have planned.

 

[dizney chick]

Sorry things didn't work out for the extra days. But at least your DH is cool with coming back next year. I can't wait to hear about your cruise. I have been thinking about taking one for a while.

 

[alayne]

Checking back in on you!! Your plans sound terrific. You are arriving on my birthday, so I'll make a birthday wish for you that everything goes exactly as you have planned.

Thank you for checking back in. Happy Early Birthday (95 more days).

 

[alayne]

Sorry things didn't work out for the extra days. But at least your DH is cool with coming back next year. I can't wait to hear about your cruise. I have been thinking about taking one for a while.

Thank you! I can't wait to write about the cruise. This is our first Disney Cruise. My DH and I have been on other cruise lines but not Disney. My DS7 has been talking about the Disney Dream since he saw it on TV so I think he will be really excited when we get on the boat.

I'm looking forward to seeing which one I like best (WDW vs. DCL).

 

[alayne]

So I have lots of ideas and planning going on for our upcoming trip. The first thing I wanted to do was get our gift baskets ordered. I have used Betsy before so I knew I had to use her again. The baskets she made for our April trip where wonderful and the kids loved them.

So I sent her an e-mail and here is what we came up with. (I want be able to post pictures of the baskets until after we get back.)

When we arrive at the CBR there will be three gift baskets waiting for my DS:

1) CBR Themed Basket
CBR T-Shirt
CBR Towel
CBR Photo Frame
CBR Coffee Mug

2) Epcot Themed Basket (Since we are only going to Epcot I wanted to do a gift basket with all his Epcot items to go along with the day.)
2011 Mickey Plush
Epcot Passport
Figment Pin
Buzz Lightspinner
Stitch Backpack Clip
2011 Sweatshirt
Epcot Pin
(We are still working on adding a few more Epcot Themed Items.)

3) Pirate Themed Basket (This will go along with our Pirate Room and the Me Pirate Adventure.)
Pirate Lanyard & 4 Pin Starter Set
Pirate Activity Kit
Custom Disney Pirate T-Shirt
Pirate Race Car
Pirate Lego Set

Betsy is also going to make my DS a Cruise Gift Basket that we will use to tell him we are going on the Disney Dream. I'm going to give this basket to him on Wednesday morning before we depart CBR to head to Port Canaveral.

4) Cruise Basket
Mickey Beach Towel
Cruise Tote Bag
Sunscreen
Mickey Sunglasses
WDW Spray Fan

Betsy is going to let me send some items that I am making (with the help of the Creative DISigns Board) that will also be included in the baskets.

When we arrive on the Disney Dream I have ordered a gift basket from Shirley that will be in our Stateroom.

This basket will be for the family and include all our favorite snacks.

I can't wait and working on all these plans are helping me to pass the time by.

Allison

 

[alayne]

Sorry I haven't been keeping this updated. I'm not sure my title fits our trip anymore.

This vacation was booked in April for our first family vacation with just the three of us.

Well we just found out were pregnant so I guess technically - there is four of us now.

I'm really really glad we are doing this trip for my DS. I think it's going to mean the world to him before this baby gets here.

 

[disneydreamgirl]

Sorry I haven't been keeping this updated. I'm not sure my title fits our trip anymore.

This vacation was booked in April for our first family vacation with just the three of us.

Well we just found out were pregnant so I guess technically - there is four of us now.

I'm really really glad we are doing this trip for my DS. I think it's going to mean the world to him before this baby gets here.

Congratulations!!!!!