Colleen27
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2007
- Messages
- 24,190
Well, all of this has changed so much that my original intro is barely relevant. Oh, the cast remains the same but just about everything about the trip has changed, not once but twice, and who knows what the next 7 months could bring? So read on if you want to know how this trip evolved, but know that you can find the current plans starting on page 7.
Our original plans may not have worked out. Plan B may not have fared much better. But we WILL catch that Mouse in Jan 2010! Strike that - Dec 2009!!
The saga begins:
Meet the Cast, post #1
The Original Idea, a Birthday Escape, post #7
The Illustrated Meet the Cast, post #8
The Reason for The Troubles, post 10 & post 11
Consolation Prize, post 14
A New Idea: Food, Wine & Fun, post 58
Same Reason, New Troubles, post 77
The Beginnings of a New and Final Plan, post 88
Gratuitious DISigns, post 90
We Have A Resort!, post 99
So Much For Final..., post 105
The Basics of Our Holiday Itinerary, post 106
ADRs, Version 1.0, post 107
One Last Update
The Trip Report has begun:
We're Home, post 135
Animal Kingdom, part 1
Animal Kingdom, part 2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With plans firmly in hand for a holiday trip in 2009, I got home from our trip in Jan 2008 and grimly faced the prospect of a very long 22 months without a return to Walt Disney World. And for almost a year, I resisted the siren call of trip planning, even took a break from reading the DIS.
Then came the 4/3 promo. How could I pass on a deal like that? And better yet, the celebrations theme and promotion arrived just in time for that unavoidable signpost on the road of aging, my 30th birthday.
Dont get me wrong, Im not one of those women who dreads aging. Im mostly indifferent to it, really, but after spending my last two milestone birthdays (18 & 21) pregnant, I think this one deserves a proper send-off!
So heres the cast
Me, Disney nut, planner extraordinaire, and birthday girl. This will be trip #5 for me and my 4th planning adventure. Im laid back almost to a fault in real life, but when I get on a planning kick watch out!
It isnt just Disney - were in the process of moving right now and Ive got every inch of the new yard and house plotted out to the inch on graph paper so that I can measure, plan, and sketch each and every project in detail! So the planning side of Disney vacations appeals to me almost as much as the vacation itself, and Im always looking for new ways to make each trip fun and different from the last.
DH, closet Disney nut, and tough guy. Dont expect him to admit it around his work buddies, but hes almost as into Disney as I am. I suspect sometimes that hes really a 15 year old trapped in a grown up body, and nowhere is his kid side as evident as at Disney World. All he asks in a vacation is good food, fun, sun, and maybe a round or two of golf, and hes more than happy to just go with the flow of my planning.
DS11, the bottomless pit, too cool for Disney. Hes my planning challenge, because he doesnt get wildly excited before each trip the way the rest of us do so it is hard to get him to talk about what he wants to do/see. He always has fun once were there but if you asked him today what he wants to do on vacation, hes as likely as not to say stay home and hang out with my friends. He has shown more interest in usual in this trip, though, because it will be his first as an adult on the dining plan. The kid is a big-time foodie who inherited his moms good taste, which can make him rather expensive to feed. Nothing like a teenage appetite with grown up tastes
This kid at a sushi restaurant could break me!
DD7, the Princess, in love with all things Disney. Shes more excited about each new trip than the last, writes stories in school about Mickeys house, and watches the Disney planning DVD for fun.
This trip is especially thrilling for her because for the first time, she gets to be the big sister. Shes taken to watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with the baby, so that the baby will recognize Mickey when we take her to meet him.
DD7mo, the baby doll, just along for the ride. Whats there to say? Shes a pampered little one, thanks to a doting big sister who treats her like a living, breathing Baby Alive doll. Shell be hanging out in the Snuggli seeing the sights for most of the trip.
Thankfully, shes a mellow baby by nature despite her siblings best efforts to spoil her rotten, and she loves new places and eating at restaurants.
DMom, longtime Disney nut, and the other birthday girl. Our birthdays are only 8 days apart, so it only made sense to plan the trip to span both. Shes a Disney lover who was frustrated by financial constraints and uncooperative children when we were small (can you believe I used to *not* want to go to WDW?!?
) and greatly enjoying the opportunity to see the World through the eyes of her grandkids. This will be her 3rd Disney trip with us and we very much enjoy traveling together. She doesnt do big rides, so shell be our babysitter when we hit the Mountains and the other thrills.
Up next... The Big Picture
Our original plans may not have worked out. Plan B may not have fared much better. But we WILL catch that Mouse in Jan 2010! Strike that - Dec 2009!!
The saga begins:
Meet the Cast, post #1
The Original Idea, a Birthday Escape, post #7
The Illustrated Meet the Cast, post #8
The Reason for The Troubles, post 10 & post 11
Consolation Prize, post 14
A New Idea: Food, Wine & Fun, post 58
Same Reason, New Troubles, post 77
The Beginnings of a New and Final Plan, post 88
Gratuitious DISigns, post 90
We Have A Resort!, post 99
So Much For Final..., post 105
The Basics of Our Holiday Itinerary, post 106
ADRs, Version 1.0, post 107
One Last Update
The Trip Report has begun:
We're Home, post 135
Animal Kingdom, part 1
Animal Kingdom, part 2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
With plans firmly in hand for a holiday trip in 2009, I got home from our trip in Jan 2008 and grimly faced the prospect of a very long 22 months without a return to Walt Disney World. And for almost a year, I resisted the siren call of trip planning, even took a break from reading the DIS.
Then came the 4/3 promo. How could I pass on a deal like that? And better yet, the celebrations theme and promotion arrived just in time for that unavoidable signpost on the road of aging, my 30th birthday.
Dont get me wrong, Im not one of those women who dreads aging. Im mostly indifferent to it, really, but after spending my last two milestone birthdays (18 & 21) pregnant, I think this one deserves a proper send-off!
So heres the cast












Up next... The Big Picture