WDWBetsy
found her happily ever after!!!
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2000
- Messages
- 2,386
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Me (Betsy, will be 37) SAHM to our DD, addicted to the DISboards, love planning vacations especially ones to WDW. This will be my 7th time at WDW. Im currently on Nutrisystem to rid myself of the baby weight (and lets face it the pre-baby weight). Intent on slimming down for our trip, as well as to keep up with a busy toddler! Im the first Ginger (a redhead for those who are confused).
DH (Jon, 31 - yes, I robbed the cradle!) my beloved computer geek/programmer/gamer/musician husband. He loves going to Disney World (this will be his 5th trip), but doesnt get too excited until the day before and doesn't pack or prepare until then. He half listens to me ramble on about the planning while playing World of Warcraft or strumming on one of his guitars. HOWEVER, hes surprising me by reading our DD a Disney World for Kids book and help her learn the characters! Hes a Ginger in disguise his hair has turned brown as hes matured.
DD (Aubree, will be 2 when we go) our little red-headed princess who rules our house. I cant wait to take her to my favorite place. Well, shes been once before back in December 2005, but I was 8 weeks pregnant! She loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and My Friends Tigger & Pooh and names many of the characters already. My grooming her to be a WDW addict is working.
DN (Barry, just turned 10) our youngest nephew. He is very excited, especially about visiting Animal Kingdom. Hes never ridden on a roller coaster I dont believe hes ever been to a theme park. Usually has his nose in his Nintendo DS. A very intelligent, sweet, responsible child who we enjoy spending time with and who really loves our DD (and she loves him!). Hes not a ginger he has very light blond hair I think that makes him a toehead?
DG (Granny, aka Joyce, who will turn 71 while at WDW) my mother who hasnt been to WDW since 1981 when it was just the Magic Kingdom and Epcot was still being built off in the distance. She doesnt really get my enthusiasm for Disney World, but is happy to be going on vacation with her 2 youngest grandkids. Shes not a ginger either more of a salt & pepper look going on!
When selecting the pics for this report, I found that there arent that many of the adults without Aubree in them, especially of me since Im usually taking the pics! But at least this will give you an idea of who this crazy bunch is!
EDITED TO ADD: a little history...
DH and I have been to WDW a total of 4 times together. This year will be our 10th anniversary, so this trip really means a lot to us. I thought I'd include a few pics from our previous trips.
FIRST TRIP in November 2001
We stayed at the former Courtyard by Marriott Downtown Disney. While it was a cheap trip, we found out in 2003 that its truly magical staying onsite. First off, you'll notice DH was much heavier - we think he was over 350 lbs. He later went on a diet in 2002 and lost over 100 pounds - just reducing portions and lots of exercise.
2nd TRIP in October 2003
We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and loved it.
3rd TRIP in November 2005
I was 8 weeks pregnant with DD - and during this trip I started experiencing major out-of-breath moments when walking to the bus stop from Epcot. I thought it was due to the cold weather. Little did I know!.
During the last trimester of my pregnancy, I was having horrible breathing issues and couldn't lie flat at all, plus one of my legs was really swollen. My doctor thought it was typical pregnancy symptoms, but after delivering DD by emergency c-section, they found out my stomach & intestine had pushed up into my chest smashing my left lung.
I had actually been in congestive heart failure. My doctors believe my Charcot Marie Tooth disease (a form of Muscular Dystrophy) caused my diaphragm to weaken, allowing my uterus to push everything up. I had to be on oxygen for over a month then I still was having trouble breathing - which makes it hard to take care of a little one. Here's a pic of a jaundiced DD and I on our first day home after being in the hospital for almost a week.
4th TRIP in January 2007
I wanted to fully recover from the c-section then get the guts up to have corrective surgery. DH and I decided to go to WDW in late January 2007 since the previous year had been both exciting and difficult. I look at these pics and can see how bad I felt. We stayed at the Polynesian. Very nice but I was exhausted most of the trip. It's not good when you can't walk up a ramp to the monorail! That's when I decided to have the surgery.
All is well now - I had the surgery in May 2007 and now I can breathe! I can lift DD without getting out of breath. So of course, we needed a do-over trip!
Here I am with friends at Downtown Disney in Sept. 2007 - feeling much better! Especially since I booked bounceback free dining!
Now I'm losing weight so this next trip will be better than ever!
Me (Betsy, will be 37) SAHM to our DD, addicted to the DISboards, love planning vacations especially ones to WDW. This will be my 7th time at WDW. Im currently on Nutrisystem to rid myself of the baby weight (and lets face it the pre-baby weight). Intent on slimming down for our trip, as well as to keep up with a busy toddler! Im the first Ginger (a redhead for those who are confused).
DH (Jon, 31 - yes, I robbed the cradle!) my beloved computer geek/programmer/gamer/musician husband. He loves going to Disney World (this will be his 5th trip), but doesnt get too excited until the day before and doesn't pack or prepare until then. He half listens to me ramble on about the planning while playing World of Warcraft or strumming on one of his guitars. HOWEVER, hes surprising me by reading our DD a Disney World for Kids book and help her learn the characters! Hes a Ginger in disguise his hair has turned brown as hes matured.
DD (Aubree, will be 2 when we go) our little red-headed princess who rules our house. I cant wait to take her to my favorite place. Well, shes been once before back in December 2005, but I was 8 weeks pregnant! She loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and My Friends Tigger & Pooh and names many of the characters already. My grooming her to be a WDW addict is working.
DN (Barry, just turned 10) our youngest nephew. He is very excited, especially about visiting Animal Kingdom. Hes never ridden on a roller coaster I dont believe hes ever been to a theme park. Usually has his nose in his Nintendo DS. A very intelligent, sweet, responsible child who we enjoy spending time with and who really loves our DD (and she loves him!). Hes not a ginger he has very light blond hair I think that makes him a toehead?
DG (Granny, aka Joyce, who will turn 71 while at WDW) my mother who hasnt been to WDW since 1981 when it was just the Magic Kingdom and Epcot was still being built off in the distance. She doesnt really get my enthusiasm for Disney World, but is happy to be going on vacation with her 2 youngest grandkids. Shes not a ginger either more of a salt & pepper look going on!
When selecting the pics for this report, I found that there arent that many of the adults without Aubree in them, especially of me since Im usually taking the pics! But at least this will give you an idea of who this crazy bunch is!
EDITED TO ADD: a little history...
DH and I have been to WDW a total of 4 times together. This year will be our 10th anniversary, so this trip really means a lot to us. I thought I'd include a few pics from our previous trips.
FIRST TRIP in November 2001
We stayed at the former Courtyard by Marriott Downtown Disney. While it was a cheap trip, we found out in 2003 that its truly magical staying onsite. First off, you'll notice DH was much heavier - we think he was over 350 lbs. He later went on a diet in 2002 and lost over 100 pounds - just reducing portions and lots of exercise.
2nd TRIP in October 2003
We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside and loved it.
3rd TRIP in November 2005
I was 8 weeks pregnant with DD - and during this trip I started experiencing major out-of-breath moments when walking to the bus stop from Epcot. I thought it was due to the cold weather. Little did I know!.
During the last trimester of my pregnancy, I was having horrible breathing issues and couldn't lie flat at all, plus one of my legs was really swollen. My doctor thought it was typical pregnancy symptoms, but after delivering DD by emergency c-section, they found out my stomach & intestine had pushed up into my chest smashing my left lung.
I had actually been in congestive heart failure. My doctors believe my Charcot Marie Tooth disease (a form of Muscular Dystrophy) caused my diaphragm to weaken, allowing my uterus to push everything up. I had to be on oxygen for over a month then I still was having trouble breathing - which makes it hard to take care of a little one. Here's a pic of a jaundiced DD and I on our first day home after being in the hospital for almost a week.
4th TRIP in January 2007
I wanted to fully recover from the c-section then get the guts up to have corrective surgery. DH and I decided to go to WDW in late January 2007 since the previous year had been both exciting and difficult. I look at these pics and can see how bad I felt. We stayed at the Polynesian. Very nice but I was exhausted most of the trip. It's not good when you can't walk up a ramp to the monorail! That's when I decided to have the surgery.
All is well now - I had the surgery in May 2007 and now I can breathe! I can lift DD without getting out of breath. So of course, we needed a do-over trip!
Here I am with friends at Downtown Disney in Sept. 2007 - feeling much better! Especially since I booked bounceback free dining!
Now I'm losing weight so this next trip will be better than ever!
We're staying at the Polynesian! Just changed us over and we're in a garden view room.
Keeping my fingers crossed that the flight times won't change much - of course, I'd be pleasantly surprised if we could leave later in the day on our way home! I'm also counting down the days until we can request our seats - 90 days before departure! 
Wow! you have been doing your homework! I wanted to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge but budget would not allow it. I could not afford the dining option, but wanted to stay some where the entire family would be comfortable aka...hubby!!!! That is why I chose the Cabins at Fort Wilderness. We will cook all of our food... with 2 growing teenage boys there is noooooo way I would be able to feed all 5 of us with my budget. 
It is so funny...I hope you have better luck...a bit of advice, you might want to "break it in" well before the trip 
We are booked at the POFQ for Aug 10th 16th. For those who havent booked airfare yet (myself included) there is a website called kayak.com that checks all the airlines, then you can print the one you like best and then go book it yourself. A lot of people don't know this, but there's something called a "guaranteed airfare policy," where most airlines offer refunds or travel credits when fares drop below the price of a ticket purchased at an airline's Web site. Send yapta.com (stands for your amazing personal travel assistant) your itinerary and they'll tell you when there's a price drop. As long as you contact the airline while prices are at the lower level, you get the refund in the form of credit even if prices spike back up above your initial purchase price. Im currently using both of these and theyre really cool.
