lklasing
Told that I need DA meetings - Disney Anonymous
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2005
- Messages
- 1,658
Hi everyone! 
I never know how to best start a trip report, but I guess a little background is always in order. This trip was hatched this past Memorial Day weekend, when my family was at the World with my dad, step-mom and two nephews on that side of the family. We stayed at Fort Wilderness in one of the cabins while my dad and step-mom stayed in their trailer and the kids bounced back and forth between the two. Here is the whole group from the May trip:
It was such a great trip in so many ways, but two primary things jumped out at me 1. Fort Wilderness is an amazing place to be and the cabins in particular suit our family perfectly (more on why later), and 2. As much fun as WDW is with just our family of four, it's even more fun when you throw more family in the mix. Put those two ideas together, and I was calling my brother-in-law while we were still there to tell him we all needed to come to the World together. His response was perfect that they needed a good family vacation, so let's do it over Thanksgiving!
I convinced him that the FW cabins were the way to go, especially since they have 3 kids, and he took the bait! So, without telling my kids there was any possibility of another trip, I started planning this one as soon as we got back home.
I guess I should fill you in on who all the players are. They are:
Me I'm a 42 year old big Disney freak. I went several times as a kid, once in college, and then my first time as an adult in May 2003. Each time I've gone, I've grown more in love with being in the World with my family. I work full time, so I really relish the time I get to spend with my family (just like everyone else here at the Dis), and we just love to travel together. So you'll know who everyone is when the pictures start rolling in, I'll post a pic for everyone in this intro part. Here's me:
My DH Ray 48 years old. Tolerates my Disney obsession very well. He has really come to enjoy being at Disney more over the years as the kids have gotten older and more competent than they were when he first was here with them (they were 6 and 8 then), and really, finding the cabins at FW has helped him enjoy these trips so much more. (Again, more about why the cabins are so right for us in a little bit.) We've been married 15 years and just have a great time together. Ray:
Danielle our 12 years old DD. Loves the World too, and has a lot of my OCD in her so she's a great help at planning. (Although, we didn't tell them about the trip util about 2 weeks out this time, so she didn't get to help plan as much as usual.) She especially loves being at the World with her cousins around life really doesn't get any better for her than that. Now that she's in 7th grade, she is at the junior high here, so the trip had to be scheduled to minimize the time away from school. Thankfully, with the holiday, we managed to squeeze a 5 night trip in with her only missing 1 day of school. Here's Danielle:
Jodi our 10 years old DD. Not at all OCD just moves through life enjoying most every minute of it. If you asked her what her favorite part of being at the World is, I know she would say, "Getting to be with my family the whole time."
While she's 10, she's still a mama's girl big time and I love it. 
I know life will catch up with her before too long and she'll have bigger interests than just us, but for now I'm loving her loving me. Jodi:
Next, we have the family of my BIL:
Kevin DH's 42 year old brother. Kevin and I are the same age, and we love giving each other grief. (For my 35th birthday, he called my office and told the receptionist I was 40.
) Kevin is a lot of fun and has lots of energy, so I knew he would be a great guy to tour with. Here's fun-loving Kevin:
Hope Kevin's wife, slightly younger that the rest of us at 41. She and Kevin have been married 18 years. Hope likes having fun like the rest of us, but also values her sleep. As a result, she and their oldest son David slept in most mornings and met up with us early afternoon.
Here's Hope:
David Kevin and Hope's 14 year old son a great kid but we didn't get to see him as much as the others as he often slept in while the rest of us headed out to the parks. I think he had a great time, though. David:
Nick Kevin and Hope's 12 year old son very athletic, very fun. He was up for anything - the more thrilling the ride, the better. We really enjoyed getting to spend time with him. Nick:
Lynn Kevin and Hope's 9 year old daughter she has been good friends with my girls since birth, and they all play together so well. A very sweet girl and always a delight to have around. She spent the night with us several times on the trip and when the group broke into smaller groups, she was always with us, which kept our girls very happy. She even looks a lot like my girls, so when the three girls were together, people thought they were all sisters. Here's Hope:
Like I said earlier, I didn't tell our girls about the trip until about two weeks out. On all previous trips, they've known about it for a year or more, and I thought it would be fun to spring it on them much closer to traveling this time. We actually lined it up for Lynn to tell the girls over the phone, which was lots of fun. Danielle and Jodi were absolutely shocked and thrilled. My only regret on doing it that way was not taking any pictures, as the looks on their faces was priceless.
Up next: Off to the Fort and the MK (with lots of pics, I promise!).
Leslie
I never know how to best start a trip report, but I guess a little background is always in order. This trip was hatched this past Memorial Day weekend, when my family was at the World with my dad, step-mom and two nephews on that side of the family. We stayed at Fort Wilderness in one of the cabins while my dad and step-mom stayed in their trailer and the kids bounced back and forth between the two. Here is the whole group from the May trip:
It was such a great trip in so many ways, but two primary things jumped out at me 1. Fort Wilderness is an amazing place to be and the cabins in particular suit our family perfectly (more on why later), and 2. As much fun as WDW is with just our family of four, it's even more fun when you throw more family in the mix. Put those two ideas together, and I was calling my brother-in-law while we were still there to tell him we all needed to come to the World together. His response was perfect that they needed a good family vacation, so let's do it over Thanksgiving!
I convinced him that the FW cabins were the way to go, especially since they have 3 kids, and he took the bait! So, without telling my kids there was any possibility of another trip, I started planning this one as soon as we got back home.I guess I should fill you in on who all the players are. They are:
Me I'm a 42 year old big Disney freak. I went several times as a kid, once in college, and then my first time as an adult in May 2003. Each time I've gone, I've grown more in love with being in the World with my family. I work full time, so I really relish the time I get to spend with my family (just like everyone else here at the Dis), and we just love to travel together. So you'll know who everyone is when the pictures start rolling in, I'll post a pic for everyone in this intro part. Here's me:
My DH Ray 48 years old. Tolerates my Disney obsession very well. He has really come to enjoy being at Disney more over the years as the kids have gotten older and more competent than they were when he first was here with them (they were 6 and 8 then), and really, finding the cabins at FW has helped him enjoy these trips so much more. (Again, more about why the cabins are so right for us in a little bit.) We've been married 15 years and just have a great time together. Ray:
Danielle our 12 years old DD. Loves the World too, and has a lot of my OCD in her so she's a great help at planning. (Although, we didn't tell them about the trip util about 2 weeks out this time, so she didn't get to help plan as much as usual.) She especially loves being at the World with her cousins around life really doesn't get any better for her than that. Now that she's in 7th grade, she is at the junior high here, so the trip had to be scheduled to minimize the time away from school. Thankfully, with the holiday, we managed to squeeze a 5 night trip in with her only missing 1 day of school. Here's Danielle:
Jodi our 10 years old DD. Not at all OCD just moves through life enjoying most every minute of it. If you asked her what her favorite part of being at the World is, I know she would say, "Getting to be with my family the whole time."
While she's 10, she's still a mama's girl big time and I love it. I know life will catch up with her before too long and she'll have bigger interests than just us, but for now I'm loving her loving me. Jodi:
Next, we have the family of my BIL:
Kevin DH's 42 year old brother. Kevin and I are the same age, and we love giving each other grief. (For my 35th birthday, he called my office and told the receptionist I was 40.
) Kevin is a lot of fun and has lots of energy, so I knew he would be a great guy to tour with. Here's fun-loving Kevin:
Hope Kevin's wife, slightly younger that the rest of us at 41. She and Kevin have been married 18 years. Hope likes having fun like the rest of us, but also values her sleep. As a result, she and their oldest son David slept in most mornings and met up with us early afternoon.
Here's Hope:
David Kevin and Hope's 14 year old son a great kid but we didn't get to see him as much as the others as he often slept in while the rest of us headed out to the parks. I think he had a great time, though. David:
Nick Kevin and Hope's 12 year old son very athletic, very fun. He was up for anything - the more thrilling the ride, the better. We really enjoyed getting to spend time with him. Nick:
Lynn Kevin and Hope's 9 year old daughter she has been good friends with my girls since birth, and they all play together so well. A very sweet girl and always a delight to have around. She spent the night with us several times on the trip and when the group broke into smaller groups, she was always with us, which kept our girls very happy. She even looks a lot like my girls, so when the three girls were together, people thought they were all sisters. Here's Hope:
Like I said earlier, I didn't tell our girls about the trip until about two weeks out. On all previous trips, they've known about it for a year or more, and I thought it would be fun to spring it on them much closer to traveling this time. We actually lined it up for Lynn to tell the girls over the phone, which was lots of fun. Danielle and Jodi were absolutely shocked and thrilled. My only regret on doing it that way was not taking any pictures, as the looks on their faces was priceless.
Up next: Off to the Fort and the MK (with lots of pics, I promise!).
Leslie
), my Photopass CD finally arrived! I'm finishing up the next installment and should have it up in just a little bit. I hope y'all are still there! Sorry for the wait!
I was a little worried that our location might be too far from everything, but they had managed to give us the only thing I had asked for that we be next door to Kevins familys cabin so I was thrilled. (And, by the way, with golf carts, the location of the cabins didnt matter one bit.) When we got there, Jodi was a little surprised that it looked just like the cabin we had back in May. 
After explaining to her that they all look just alike, we unpacked the groceries and grabbed some lunch. When we left for the MK, it became apparent that our golf cart had a battery issue. We barely made it back to the golf cart rental area, and that was with the girls getting out and running for part of the time to lighten the load. 
Its not a very good picture, but here is part of the line at Splash Mountain:
PS If anyone wants the recipe for sausage things, let me know. Its a very easy but awesome recipe for breakfast pastry things that go over like gangbusters with big groups. They served their purpose perfectly for this trip, but I always also make them for big family breakfasts and everyone loves them.
