Glistening in October...a pre-trip report

shannn

If I spend my kids' college funds on DVC, can I ha
Joined
Oct 7, 2006
Messages
1,107
Okay, I'm so freakin' in love with UtahMama & TwinkieMama & GlendaMax & ..... that I decided that I needed a trip report of my very own. Now, no good trip report is complete without a pre-trip report, so here we go!!

The Cast:

Me-- shann, almost 36, 5th grade teacher, lover of trip-planning, WDW veteran. You see, growing up, I had relatives who lived in Apopka. Those of you who drive to WDW just had alarm bells ringing in your heads! That's right--exit 92. Because of that, we went to Florida almost every summer. And since I was born in 1970, I was at the beginning of the magic. Bless my sweet grandfather's heart (a Southern phrase that I use quite often), I truly believed that It's a Small World was his favorite ride as well as mine. :blush: When I think of how many trips I made him listen to that music 4 or 5 or 6 times in a row, well all I can say is Bless His Heart! In high school and college, I was in marching band so I have marched through the Magic Kingdom in more ways than one! Of course, then it was about how many times we could ride Space Mountain in a row rather than IASW. Once I graduated and got married, the magic slowed down. In 1995, we took a day trip during a family reunion and visited MGM and that's the last time I visited Mickey!

DH--38, engineer, likes to pretend he's too mature for the magic. (Except for the groping on Space Mountain during college, that is...) :teeth:

DS--5, energetic, movie lover, loves everything hero related including The Incredibles, Buzz Lightyear ("Lifeyear"), Peter Pan, knights, dragons....

DD--2 going on 20, full of herself, loves the princesses (calls them "the beautifuls"), pink and yellow and bows but gets dirty with the boys on a regular basis. (You've never lived until you've seen a girl in a sparkly princess dress playing in the sandbox!!) Just decided she was wearing panties, but that's a whole OTHER story!

So,it's Fall 2005 and the next year's school calendar is released. I look at it and realize that for the first time ever we have a FALL break. One glorious week of time off smack in the middle of October, conveniently starting the day AFTER my 36th birthday and BEFORE my daughter turns 3 (thus being free for her to go to the parks.) All signs point to yes, we're going to Disney World!!
 
So, we're going to Disney!! :cool1: Let the planning begin. DH is reluctantly on board but tells me to keep under control. I start planning and decide that 2 parents and 2 kids is good, but 2 parents, 2 kids and 2 GRANDparents is better! I invite 2 grandmothers

Granmouse-59, DMIL, retired preschool teacher of 30 years, adores my kids to the point of letting them get away with murder, is married to a man who thinks he bought a slave instead of getting married (that she adores...go figure!), has been to WDW once with 2 kids in two and no DH because "he didn't want to go" (Does everyone get how I feel about my my-not-DFIL? :sad2: )

Grammie--48, DM, retired teacher, lives with us, breast cancer patient (although at the time that we made the plans she was in remission), loves WDW but hasn't been there in years

and now we're a party of six. I start buying guide books and come upon the unofficial guide! It becomes my bible as I quickly read it 3 times in a row (laughing out loud and underlining as I go). I read about EMHs, ADRs, and resorts and suddenly we've GOT to stay on the grounds.

I convince my DH that this will make everyone happy and he laughingly gives in and laughingly (little does he know) tells me to keep it under 10 grand!
 
I obsessively research resorts, but when I spy that pirate ship my decision is made. We're staying at the Beach Club!! And what's this about a dining plan? We can prepay?? And eat at good restaurants without having DH raise his eyebrows at the prices?? We love all-inclusive...we're in! (Oh, by the way, Grammie & Granmouse, your part is now ....yeah...well...a lot!!)
 
We find an AMAZING TA from Small World Travel and our plans are made!! :cheer2:

I start to work on restaurant choices and circle my 180 days date in red on my calendar. I'm not a big breakfast eater,but my Grammie must have food. What to do? I know! We'll stay concierge and eat in the lounge..
:goodvibes Movin' on Up

So, breakfast is covered. Now what?

I finally email the concierge my choices in April and these are our ADRS:
Monday: dinner at Ohana's
Tuesday: dinner at Hollywood & Vine with Fantasmic package
Wednesday: dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern with Goofy
Thursday: lunch at Cinderella's Castle...

Lunch.in.the.castle. princess: My princess will flip! Oh, who am I kidding, I'm going to flip!! This has been my dream forever--to actually be IN Cinderella's castle. They could serve us all PBJ & it wouldn't matter. We're going to the castle!
 

Well, we're leaving tomorrow and I will continue with a big report when we return!
My two sweethearts :earsboy: :earsgirl: are all ready to go!
 
Let me know when you start your report, I'll move you over to the regular Trip Reports board and also please change your title.
Ohmari, Trip Reports Moderator
 












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