How I ended up planning a trip for us and 10 of my closest inlaws

[Princess Sleepy]

It's all the fault of the DIS boards, really. When I started planning our DDs' first trip, I hadn't been to WDW in almost 17 years! I found this board and before I knew it, I was hooked. Before we even left for our first trip (in February of 2009), I was planning to go again.

I fell in love with the idea of WDW during the holidays. I wasn't sure my DH would feel the same way, so I began to plot. All of his family lives out of town, all of my family lives 10 minutes away from us. So holidays are always a little bit of a tightrope walk. I had a great solution. I could stand to miss a major holiday with my family if I was at WDW. So when his family arrived for a few days for Thanksgiving of 2008, I announced that I had a master plan. We would spend Thanksgiving of 2011 at Disney World! To my surprise, they did not need any convincing. As long as I was willing to plan it, they were willing to go along.

Well, over the course of my research, I realized that subjecting them all to holiday crowds for their first-ever Disney experience would be a tactical error. So my plan has evolved (and continues to evolve) into its current state.

In the upcoming months you will meet the cast of characters, hear about the ever-changing plans, and finally share the excitement as we count down to the Day of Departure. I hope some of you will join me. But if not, I'm happy to write just as an outlet for my planning energy!

 

[Princess Sleepy]

First, here is an introduction to my immediate family.

I am Sarah: Disney fanatic and relative expert, stay-at-home mother of two, consummate planner, and child at heart. When I went to WDW with my parents last, I was 20 years old. As I was bouncing my way off the monorail at Epcot, my dad says to me, "Never lose that enthusiasm!" He is not usually the sentimental type, so that has really stayed with me. Of course, when he said that, he probably never realized the extremes I would take that enthusiasm to later.

My DH is Jesse: He is more of a Disney cynic. He is my complete opposite when it comes to planning. He likes to be surprised. However, he has come to appreciate that my obsessive planning makes for fun and surprising trips for him. He listens tolerantly to every one of my plans, but points out that there is not reason for him to respond, since I will have changed the plan completely a week later.

DD number 1 is Leah: She is currently 7 and will be turning 8 on the trip. She can keep up with me when we play Disney Scene It and she can sing every Disney song from every movie. She would be thrilled about celebrating her birthday at WDW...if she knew anything about the trip.

DD number 2 is Sophie: She is currently 4 and will turn 5 this summer. She celebrated her last birthday at MK and had dinner with Cinderella at the GF. She also is an expert in all things Disney. After screaming and crying her way through HM last summer, she now declares it is her favorite ride and asks weekly when we can go back to WDW so she can ride it over and over again. She also has no clue that we will be returning in a little over 7 months.

Here is a picture of the 4 of us.

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[QuirkyButterfly]

Hi looks like I am the first one to show up. How exciting that you are going with so many people. But I am in awe of your planning abilities , I get overwhelmed planning for two of us, let alone 10 inlaws. Your DH sounds like my DBF, he is happy to let me plan and just show up on the day. Can't wait to hear more over the coming months .

 

[Princess Sleepy]

Hi Quirky! Welcome aboard! I do love to plan, and, so far things have worked out pretty well.

The next group I will introduce you all to is Jesse's sister's family.
Their family now numbers 5, thanks to a new addition just over a year ago.

First is Anna, my DH's sister: She is his younger sister, but two years, and has lived out of state since two years before we got married. We get along well, but are not close. (FYI, I am 4 years older than my DH, so there is an age gap with his sister.) She is a runner and a stay-at-home mom, doing the books for her husband's business.

Yuki: Anna's husband. He is a dentist with his own practice in a suburb of Denver. Although we see them infrequently, it is always like picking up right where we left off with him. Both of my daughters adore him and think he is fun and funny. He loves to play soccer and ping pong, as well as one of the martial arts. He is severely allergic to dogs, so he can never come visit at our home

Ilani: Daughter number 1. She will be 7 at the time of the trip, just 8 months younger than my older daughter. In fact, we found out that Anna was pregnant with Ilani on the day Leah was born. Ilani is quiet and focused. She and her sister are severely allergic to everything (dairy, eggs, tree nuts, pets). It has made it a real challenge to see them. They can'at come to our house because of our dog and they can't come and go out, because eating out could kill them. Finding Disney's allergy friendly policy was an amazing moment.

Maia: Daughter number 2. She will be 5 when we travel. She is exactly 2 months younger than my second daughter. She is taller than her older sister, and loves to cause trouble. She also shares all her sister's allergies. It will be so fun for the cousins to all play together at last.

Yvie (pronounced Evie): Is the baby of the family. She will be a few months short of 2 when we take our trip. Sadly, our family has not gotten a chance to meet her yet and probably will be doing so for the very first time in Florida.

So you can see that getting together with Jesse's sister's family has been a challenge for all of us. It's a shame, because we all like each other a lot and have a really good time when we're together. That's why I think this trip might just be crazy enough to work.

 

[Princess Sleepy]

The rest of the characters coming along are as follows:

My DMIL- Margi. Lives near my sister-in-law and her family. She comes to visit once or twice a year, so we don't see her very often. She works too hard and needs this vacation. She is very easy going and was delighted to have me plan a trip for everyone.

My DH's aunt and uncle: Joanne and George. They live in yet another state and we are lucky to see them once a year. They are Disney visitors, but not necessarily fanatics. They are both semi-retired and spend a lot of time with their grandson (see below).

Sarah: My Dh's cousin, daughter of Joanne and George. She is currently a waitress and (I think) going to nursing school. She just recently moved back home after living near us for 8 years. We miss her and are very excited to travel with them for the first time.

Ashton: Sarah's son. He will be 9 when we travel. He is a smart cookie and a Disney veteran. He grudgingly puts up with his 5 girl cousins on the rare occasions that he sees them.

So, that's the cast of vacationers. Next up...the evolution of the vacation.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Hi Sarah...good luck with planning for such a big group! I am also overwhelmed with planning just for the two of us...don't think I could cope with any more numbers!

Am looking forward to reading the rest of your plans