mikesdisneymom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2006
- Messages
- 820
I have followed several trip reports and have enjoyed all that I have read. I figured that I would try and write one of my own, so here is my first pre-trip report. The trip dates are May 16 28, switching resorts from All Star Movies to Coronado Springs resort on May 26. The cast for the trip is going to be me and my son.
Me: Hi, all my name is Laura. I am 38 years old and a single mother, homeschool teacher, home care provider and family travel planner. I just completed my Associates in Business Administration in March 2013 and am working on my bachelors degree as well as being a homeschool mentor/teacher for my son. The home care provider comes in because I take care of my parents, who are both disabled, besides being a care provider I am also their taxi driver since neither of them could/should drive. That is just about all for me next I will introduce my son. I grew up with going to Disneyland and have to admit that my love for Disney was inherited from my parents.
DS: Name is Michael, he is 15 going on 16. He is about 6 inches taller than me. He is the birthday boy and has no idea that we are taking a vacation to WDW. He is a very smart boy and if he put his mind to it would get straight As but, I will admit he does not try as hard as he should. He is a great kid, he helps his mom around the house and helps out with care for his grandma and grandpa. He is my little angel. He has grown up with many trips to both Disneyland and WDW.
The planning of this trip has been a roller coaster of ups and downs. The dates for the trip were changed 3 times, not to mention the resort changes, dining changes and number of people attending (originally it was for me, my ds, my mom, and my dad). The first plans for this trip were for 4 people in September of 2012 for All Star Movies resort for 4 days. Dad ended up in the hospital about 2 months prior to the trip and the doctor told him that he could not go until November at the earliest. So what to do but the next logical thing and that is to change the dates to November and the resort to Caribbean Beach Resort. The November dates got changed due to dad going back into the hospital, so he and my mom discussed it and decided that they just couldnt go because of health issues. I had a decision to make to go or not go, well I decided that my son and I should go and why not go in May. DS 16th birthday is on the 20th of May and he loves Star Wars, what a great time to go. My son knows nothing of the trip it is a surprise over a year in the making.
I booked the trip for May 16 May 23rd at Art of Animation, little mermaid room. The months go by and I keep debating with myself as to if I am going to extend the vacation or not. I finally decide that I am going to extend the vacation but where to stay and since son knows nothing of this trip I cant ask him. I sneakily ask him if he would ever want to stay in a little mermaid room at the Art of Animation his response was, mom I am a boy what do you think. I decide to change the resort and go to one of his favorite resort All Star Movies. I then extend the trip for 10 nights May 16 May 26. I still feel that this is not enough time and debate with myself for another month on whether I am going to extend even further. I make the decision that staying in a moderate for two additional nights would be a good thing; we have always wanted to try Coronado Springs, so I book two nights at CSR. All plans made and package paid off I can now relax and prepare for the journey.
The DDP was a definite from day one, we have gone without the DDP once and have decided it is a must on every trip. All the changes in dates meant that dining plans needed to be canceled and rebooked and then canceled and rebooked; I have never made so many dining cancelations in my life. Once the decision to go in May was confirmed the next step was to make dining reservations again. This time I did not have to cancel my reservations due to dates, however deciding on the restaurants we wanted to go to was another story. I would book reservations and then decide that I wanted to try a different one so once again I would cancel a reservation and book another one. I am happy to say that all decisions have been made and reservations made and I will not be making any more changes. A phone call that I had once when changing a reservation did end with me ordering a cake for my sons birthday. With no input from my son I have decided that we are going to eat at Cape May Café, T-Rex Café, The Garden Grill, Whispering Canyon, Chef Mickeys, Sci-Fi, Ohana, Tonys Town Square, Tusker House, Coral Reef, and Hollywood and Vine. Some of these are going to need to be out of pocket meals. Most of these restaurants are my sons favorites so I know that he will enjoy going there again. This will be our first time at Ohana and Tusker House but from the reviews that I have read, I am sure that we will enjoy.
I am really looking forward to this trip and surprising my son. I have most of the hotel stays reservations ready, since I will be driving from Michigan need to get all the hotel details filled for the drive down with hotels and stops. Oh, and figuring out how exactly I am going to surprise son with the trip.
I hope you all enjoyed my first trip report and I look forward to putting in the final details. I will keep everyone up to date and once I get home and settled I will start a trip report.
Me: Hi, all my name is Laura. I am 38 years old and a single mother, homeschool teacher, home care provider and family travel planner. I just completed my Associates in Business Administration in March 2013 and am working on my bachelors degree as well as being a homeschool mentor/teacher for my son. The home care provider comes in because I take care of my parents, who are both disabled, besides being a care provider I am also their taxi driver since neither of them could/should drive. That is just about all for me next I will introduce my son. I grew up with going to Disneyland and have to admit that my love for Disney was inherited from my parents.
DS: Name is Michael, he is 15 going on 16. He is about 6 inches taller than me. He is the birthday boy and has no idea that we are taking a vacation to WDW. He is a very smart boy and if he put his mind to it would get straight As but, I will admit he does not try as hard as he should. He is a great kid, he helps his mom around the house and helps out with care for his grandma and grandpa. He is my little angel. He has grown up with many trips to both Disneyland and WDW.
The planning of this trip has been a roller coaster of ups and downs. The dates for the trip were changed 3 times, not to mention the resort changes, dining changes and number of people attending (originally it was for me, my ds, my mom, and my dad). The first plans for this trip were for 4 people in September of 2012 for All Star Movies resort for 4 days. Dad ended up in the hospital about 2 months prior to the trip and the doctor told him that he could not go until November at the earliest. So what to do but the next logical thing and that is to change the dates to November and the resort to Caribbean Beach Resort. The November dates got changed due to dad going back into the hospital, so he and my mom discussed it and decided that they just couldnt go because of health issues. I had a decision to make to go or not go, well I decided that my son and I should go and why not go in May. DS 16th birthday is on the 20th of May and he loves Star Wars, what a great time to go. My son knows nothing of the trip it is a surprise over a year in the making.
I booked the trip for May 16 May 23rd at Art of Animation, little mermaid room. The months go by and I keep debating with myself as to if I am going to extend the vacation or not. I finally decide that I am going to extend the vacation but where to stay and since son knows nothing of this trip I cant ask him. I sneakily ask him if he would ever want to stay in a little mermaid room at the Art of Animation his response was, mom I am a boy what do you think. I decide to change the resort and go to one of his favorite resort All Star Movies. I then extend the trip for 10 nights May 16 May 26. I still feel that this is not enough time and debate with myself for another month on whether I am going to extend even further. I make the decision that staying in a moderate for two additional nights would be a good thing; we have always wanted to try Coronado Springs, so I book two nights at CSR. All plans made and package paid off I can now relax and prepare for the journey.
The DDP was a definite from day one, we have gone without the DDP once and have decided it is a must on every trip. All the changes in dates meant that dining plans needed to be canceled and rebooked and then canceled and rebooked; I have never made so many dining cancelations in my life. Once the decision to go in May was confirmed the next step was to make dining reservations again. This time I did not have to cancel my reservations due to dates, however deciding on the restaurants we wanted to go to was another story. I would book reservations and then decide that I wanted to try a different one so once again I would cancel a reservation and book another one. I am happy to say that all decisions have been made and reservations made and I will not be making any more changes. A phone call that I had once when changing a reservation did end with me ordering a cake for my sons birthday. With no input from my son I have decided that we are going to eat at Cape May Café, T-Rex Café, The Garden Grill, Whispering Canyon, Chef Mickeys, Sci-Fi, Ohana, Tonys Town Square, Tusker House, Coral Reef, and Hollywood and Vine. Some of these are going to need to be out of pocket meals. Most of these restaurants are my sons favorites so I know that he will enjoy going there again. This will be our first time at Ohana and Tusker House but from the reviews that I have read, I am sure that we will enjoy.
I am really looking forward to this trip and surprising my son. I have most of the hotel stays reservations ready, since I will be driving from Michigan need to get all the hotel details filled for the drive down with hotels and stops. Oh, and figuring out how exactly I am going to surprise son with the trip.
I hope you all enjoyed my first trip report and I look forward to putting in the final details. I will keep everyone up to date and once I get home and settled I will start a trip report.
