Heading out tomorrow!

[EpiscoDisFan]

here we gooooooooooooooooo . . .

we leave tomorrow for 3 weeks. one week in Marco Island Marriott, then for a week at our beloved Vero Beach, and finally to WDW. we are staying at OKW for the first time. grandparents are going to fly down and join us at vero after new year's and come over for 3 days with us at OKW.

we are so excited!

 

[Lenc324]

I would be excited too. Have fun!!!!

 

[dallastxcpa]

I am soooooo jealous! Seriously though, that sounds like an awesome vacation. Here's to sunny skys and warm weather.

 

[EpiscoDisFan]

THIS JUST IN! Whole family up at 6am (we aren't leaving until after school), but oldest daughter (8 yrs old) has ear infection and fever. middle daughter (6) has been coughing all night. youngest daughter (2 1/2) is oblivious, awake, and dancing around.

WE WILL NOT BE DAUNTED! we have completed Magic Kingdom death marches in the rain, waited 2 hours for a 10 minute Dumbo ride, and our first Disney Vacation (01) had us huddled in our beloved POR room with electric skillet and hot pot cooking meals so we could afford the vacation (hiding cooking implements under the bed each day out of fear we were breaking rules and mousekeeping might turn us in!) LOL (in fact, now that i think about it, i was sick a few days on that vacation, but didn't tell anyone because i didn't want my wife to get sad after her year of planning and saving for our magical vacation!)

our attitude is, we can have sick kids at home in cold snowy ohio or sick kids in 80 degree sunny weather. the new Grand Caravan with the table and swivel seats (yes, we are absolutely SO sick, we made our latest car choice based on improving our drives to Disney . . . yes we are wack jobs!) will be packed today, and we will be on the road.

send healing Pixie Dust our way please!!!!!!!!!

 

[Olaf]

I am seriously jealous. We've been never able to take 3-weeks of vacation in one go.

Have fun!

 

[nzdisneymom]

OP - sorry 'bout the sickness but I'm sure the kiddos will be feeling better once school is out and you are on your way -- unless no school for them today and you can leave earlier???

We'll be at Vero Dec 30 - Jan 4th for our first visit and we're so looking forward to it -- if you're killin' time today, I'd love to read about your favorite things / tips to know about Vero Beach (both the resort and the surrounding area).

Be safe. Be well.

 

[tomandrobin]

Well, it looks like you are off to an adventurous start!

Have a great trip and I hope everyone gets well soon!

 

[EpiscoDisFan]

hi dizneymom!

we will be at vero at the same time! is this the first time you have been there? we absolutely LOVE it. its very relaxing. if you like to just hang out at the pool or at the beach and quietly relax then it is the place for you.

our kids love playing putput, playing in the pool and boogieboarding at the beach. the waves at vero can really be fun! we also rent bikes one day.

our kids also will plug into the crafts and projects that happen everyday. there is also a KidsClub a couple of days each week, and we will do that to have an evening out to dinner.

we actually like staying on property 90% of the time, and don't mind eating therre pretty much exlusively. others get tired of that routine, and go to one of the plenty of fun restaurants in the area (Captn Hiram and Squid Lips are pretty popular). they have menus of all the area rests. at the front desk for you to flip through.

there will be a fun New Year's Eve Party during the day and another one at night by the pool.

at the beach you can rent chairs, cabannas (our favorite), boogieboards, jetski, sailboat, kayak, etc. this is contracted out, and is not a "Disney" operation, but it might as well be. they only service Disney resort guests, and the cabanna guys are REALLY super nice and provide wonderful service. we try and tip them well during our stay, and they go the extra mile for you.

there is quite a neat community of "regular New Year's Vero families" that see each other each year, and the kids get to know each other more every year and look forward to reconnecting with their Vero friends.

it would be neat to bump into you at Vero. keep an eye out for us.

keep sending us magical healing vibes!

 

[jakenjess]

Sounds like a wonderful vacation ahead of you! I hope everyone's quickly on the mend. There's nothing better, physically and mentally, than a nice, long, relaxing vacation! My kids LOVE the looks of the new Grand Caravan, but unfortunately we'll have to stick with the old one for awhile.

I'll look forward to hearing about your trip. Have fun!

 

[lovinthemouse]

Here is some healing magic Have a wonderful trip.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Hey, the good part is that if everyone is sick now, they'll be "in the pink" for the WDW part of the trip! Have a GREAT time!

 

[DVC Mike]

Wow, a 3 week vacation! The maximum I take at my job is 1 week so they don't realize how they can easily get along without me.

I can't imagine a 3 week vacation, as I've never done one. ENJOY!!

 

[RLRDA]

Wow, have a wonderful time! I can't imagine being on a vacation (away from home, that is) for 3 weeks. Hope everyone is feeling better.....I always pack emergency antibiotic refills in the first aid kit when we go away. Thankfully, we haven't needed them yet but you never know with young children.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Thanks for sharing what there is to do... I hadn't read about the New Year's Eve party so I'm excited to learn about it. We have traditionally gone to St. George Island, FL, for New Years but since we joined DVC in 2006, we opted to spend our points at Vero this year - I absolutlely LOVE being at a beach for New Years so DVC makes that possible for us again this year!

Yes, this will be our first time at Vero, so I'm spending today combing through threads (thank goodness the SEARCH function is working well today).

So what all is there to do at Community Hall? My guys love CH at OKW - playing air hockey and pool. Is there putt-putt on property or nearby? How much are the bike rentals and do they provide helmets or should we bring our own? I think a bike ride would be a nice activity to do. We haven't done a family bike ride since Dec. 2005 at Castaway Cay... DH and the boys ride at home but I don't have a bike.

What kinds of activities does the Kid Club offer? And what are the age ranges for participating? My guys are 10 and 11 1/2. Is it like the services they have at some of the WDW resorts in the evenings? We had the kids when they were younger to the Cub's Den at Wilderness Lodge. Arts and Crafts sounds like fun to me... I never get to check them out when we're at WDW since everyone else always wants to go to the parks - it will be so nice to have a "Disney" vacation that doesn't involve hours and hours of crowds.

Thanks for the tip about asking for menues at the front desk - our boys eat so differently from each other that when we go out we often have one who doesn't eat and we'll either feed him before we go or pick him something up afterwards which I don't mind since I'd rather not waste $$ on food he isn't going to eat. But having an idea of what is available ahead of time will make our dining options more son-friendly.

Tell me a little more about the cabanas on the beach... what is it like (and thanks for the reminder to make sure to have tip-$$)? Does the resort have sand-toys or do we need to bring our own?

it would be neat to bump into you at Vero. keep an eye out for us.

I'll probably ask everyone that I see "are you a DISer"? But seriously, it would be fun to say "hi" to fellow-DISers / DVCers. We're a family of four - DH is about 6 ft, I'm 5'3", and the boys are the same size (although over a year apart in age and the older one absolutely hates it when someone asks if they are twins).

Still sending pixie-dust for your kids to feel better.....

 

[tomandrobin]

Wow, a 3 week vacation! The maximum I take at my job is 1 week so they don't realize how they can easily get along without me.

I can't imagine a 3 week vacation, as I've never done one. ENJOY!!

Most we have ever done was 10 days! I can't even imagine what that would be like.

 

[browniemtb]

here we gooooooooooooooooo . . .

we leave tomorrow for 3 weeks. one week in Marco Island Marriott, then for a week at our beloved Vero Beach, and finally to WDW. we are staying at OKW for the first time. grandparents are going to fly down and join us at vero after new year's and come over for 3 days with us at OKW.

we are so excited!

Great, rub it in,.......don't forget the trip report when you get back. I am very interested in you Marco Island excursion.....Thanks

Brownie