First Trip Report. A Mom's Effort To Keep Two Princesses and Grumpy Happy!

[canongirl]

This is my first trip report and our first and mostly last trip to Disney. I don't say this like other people who end up becoming addicted. I know my dh well enough to know that I have one shot at this. Additionally, next year we are going to Budapest because my brother is getting married and the following year my aunt wants to take us on a Disney Cruise. So i won't say never, but I already know that another trip is unlikely--at least while my girls are still at that magical age.

We have just booked our trip fro Aug 17-25.

A little about us. I am the mom, the OCD planner, and I live with 2 ADD children and an ADD husband (are you envisioning the drama that promises to unfold?). Managing daily life can be a challenge for me. It is like herding cats. I have begun planing this trip trying desperately to manage expectations and anticipate the challenges.

This is me with my girls (I hope PB works-haven't done this in awhile):

DH and the girls (It seems we don't have any pics of just ourselves).

DD Lilly- Will be 7 when we go to Disney

And DD Emmy -Will turn 5 on our trip

So this is our cast of crazy characters. I should also mention that my youngest wants to be a boy, so there I am trying to incorporate "boy stuff" into our trip.


A little bit about me- I am a working mom with an executive position. My husband is freelance. This translate into him working a lot of evenings and weekend and me working and having kids all weekend. No rest for the weary. I am really not complaining because I am just happy he is getting work in a down market. I only bring this up because the ONLY time I get to relax with my kids is when I am far away from a laundry pile. Otherwise, I am one of those people that has trouble looking at a mess and sitting still.

My husband and I are very different vacationers. He likes to wake up late and sit around on a beach. I like to go-go-go. It is so difficult for us to vacation together, I end up taking the girls myself. It is much less stressful this way.

But Disney is Disney and it is a milestone I want him to experience with them. He is also Disney resistant. He works for some Disney owned companies and 2 weeks before my oldest daughter was born, he had a heart attack and Dis did not treat him so well. He never forgot it and quite honestly, I don't begrudge him those feelings. I am sure it was just one bad apple, but he is entitled to what he feels. He vowed our children would have nothing to do with Disney. Ahahahahaha. We have two girls. That is a joke. Ultimately, our girls' happiness outweighed his Disney bias and we now are well-stocked with princess dresses and Disney movies! But a trip to Disney World (in his words "the cult of the rat") is still a tough sell.

I just started a new job. The girls have been begging to go to Disney for years and I promised them if I got the new job I would take them. i had a vacation payout coming. I got the job and so here I am. I am a basket case quite honestly. i am trying so hard to please everyone and manage my expectations, that I am second guessing myself every step of the way.

If you are still with me, more to come:

How I convinced the hub and our plans

 

[canongirl]

Shoot. PB didn't work. Let me try again. Okay. Sorry. I figured it out.

 

[canongirl]

So on to my Disney plans...

I have been researching Disney for months knowing I was looking for a new job and I would get a chunk of cash for my unused vacation payout. I only recently discovered Disboards.

I told my dh all along this was what we were doing and there wasn't much he could say since *I* was the one that sacrificed vacation for the payout. Although we share income and expenses, he realized that this was really my sacrifice and my money to spend.

I did contemplate a new camera and possibly a new handbag, but ultimately, none of that would compare with this one chance I had to give my girls an amazing vacation. Since my husband didn't all out boycott the trip, I moved forward with the planning.

Three of my close friends had stayed at the WL so that was my top resort choice. Then I considered POP to save money or the pirate rooms at CBR. I went back and forth and back and forth and ultimately chose 6 nights and 7 days at the WL. I made this choice mainly due to convenience. I wanted to be able to come back in the afternoons and nap and swim. The proximity to MK seemed to be the deciding factor for me. I like the WL, but I would prefer the Poly. This seemed like a good compromise.

Now on to the ADRs. OY!!! This planning is harder and FAR more stressful than my than my job.

Will I get everything we wanted???????

 

[canongirl]

So my planning revolved around the ADRs I wanted. I knew I wanted a lot og character meals because I would rather do the meals than wait in lines in the heat to meet the characters

My plan was the following:

Friday, August 19
Arrive at hotel
Swim
Spirit of Aloha 5:15 PM
Magic Kingdom

Saturday, August 20
DHS EMH
Lunch Sci Fi
Afternoon swimming and nap
HDDR 7:15 PM

Sunday, August 21
Tusker House Breakfast
AK
CS at AK
Afternoon swimming and nap

California Grill 5:45
Pirates and Pals Cruise 8:45 PM

Monday, August 22
Breakfast at Chef Mickeys 8:25 am
Epcot
Cs lunch
Afternoon swimming and nap
Rose and Crown 6:5 PM
Illuminations

Tuesday, August 23
CRT 9:0 am
late morning swimming and nap
DHS for Block Party Parade 3 pm
Brown Derby 5:00 pm
Fantastmic 8:00 pm

Wednesday August 24
Ohana's Lilo and Stitch Breakfast 9:00 am
MK
Bippidty Boppity Boutique 1:30 pm
Grand Floridian Character Dinner 6:10 pm
MK

Thursday, August 25
Morning open
Le Chefs 1:00 pm
Afternoon: EPCOT WS?
Leave for ME 5:30 pm

Sounds good right? No...

 

[lbuzz52]

Hi! Nice start!
We took Our first trip with a less than thrilled DH too. At the time dd was 4 and ds was 9 months. DH just didn't get what all the hype was about. But Dd was definitely at the perfect age. And he now can't wait to take ds to let him have that special experience too! I think the mind changing factor was definitely the fact that it was so magical for dd, that she truly believed in everything she saw. So Disney hater or not, I'd imagine your dh will have a fantastic time if nothing else because he gets to be part of the memories that your dd's will talk about for the rest of their lives.

 

[canongirl]

Hi! Nice start!
We took Our first trip with a less than thrilled DH too. At the time dd was 4 and ds was 9 months. DH just didn't get what all the hype was about. But Dd was definitely at the perfect age. And he now can't wait to take ds to let him have that special experience too! I think the mind changing factor was definitely the fact that it was so magical for dd, that she truly believed in everything she saw. So Disney hater or not, I'd imagine your dh will have a fantastic time if nothing else because he gets to be part of the memories that your dd's will talk about for the rest of their lives.

Thanks! I am counting on that. My husband is like a HUGE kids and as long as he is having fun and doesn't have to worry about finances or planning, he tends to jump on board. He is a FABULOUS very involved dad so I am counting on the fact that their excitement will bring him such joy that he won't complain. I am also slowly trying to prepare him for lines, crowds etc.

 

[canongirl]

.

 

[lbuzz52]

The crowds are much more managble in the fall- espcially if you time the big headliners right and take advantage of fast pass. Do you have park hoppers?