KangaFan
Hoping to someday be as patient as Kanga
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2006
- Messages
- 687
Get comfortable, because this is a long cast of characters . . . 
Cast of Characters:
Me, 33, full-time Mom. This is my first time ever going to Disney World. To my husbands dismay, I am probably more excited than our two children! The only way I can possibly stand the wait is to obsessively and compulsively plan for said trip.
DH33, an officer in the Coast Guard, went to Disney a few times with his parents in the 70s & 80s. Has given up hopes of containing my excitement and just prefers I keep him in the dark as to my ever-tweaked itinerary. Has been know to wave off other family members or friends who start to or look as if they are about to ask me what our plans are for Disney.
DS8, loves Legos, video games, Star Wars & roller coasters. It was a dream come true for him when we found out about the free ticket upgrade that will allow him to head to Disney Quest!
DD4, cant wait to meet the Princesses, especially Ariel, her favorite. My
DMIL has always called her Princess, and she has learned to like it. In fact, she's looking for an upgrade. Once, while wearing a tiara, someone called her a Princess and she said, quite formally, Im not a Princess, Im the Queen. just what we needed, royalty in our home, Thanks Grandma.
DM48, yes, DM means dear mother and yes all you mathematicians
she is a very young Mom. In fact, I think spiritually, our ages should be switched. My DM loves to go out, drink & be merry. Although she is planning to take the kids for a night so DH & I can do Le Cellier, adult style, she is not your typical grandmother. She has plans to live it up and to check out the Disney nightlife.
(sorry, I don't have a picture handy, but will add one later)
Moms DBF60, of Irish descent and is a real wise guy. Rides and Disney really arent his kind of thing, but hes going for Mom and when his fun meter gets pegged, will most likely retreat to one of Disneys many lounges for a cigar and some adult refreshment--I'm sure there's a few spots/drinks you can all recommend!
(DSis on left)
DSIS24, works at a group home and will be celebrating her birthday the day before we arrive. Although she is not thrilled about rooming with Mom & Moms DBF, she cant complain about the price of her accommodationsfree!
DMIL & DFIL, 50-somethings (DH isnt quite sure), are retired teachers. The last time they went to Disney World, they camped with DH and his 2 other teen/pre-teen brothers at Fort Wilderness. DFIL is looking forward to Epcot at an adult pace while DMIL cant wait to share Its a Small World with DD4. **As I type, whether or not DMIL & DFIL are going to be able to make it is uncertain. DMIL just found out that she needs to have back surgery and it doesnt look as if it is the kind that can wait.
(pic to follow)
DUncle 50 this year & DAunt, 40-something, are Annual Passholders and big Disney fans who live in Sanford. Their reward for answering my many phone calls/questions in the last year about all things Disney and supplying my children with numerous Disney pins and other park essentials is a great excuse to play hooky (spelling?) from work while they join us for random parts of our 1st vacation.
(don't even have a pic of these guys, sorry)
DAunts Sister & DAunts Sisters Boyfriend will also be joining us for a couple of evenings
Key facts:
When: Arriving January 20, Departing January 28th via Magical Express
Where: Port Orleans French Quarter
Why: Because it looked so beautiful and with the Jan upgrades/discounts and the dining
plan, it was cheaper than Shades of Green
ADRs: OHana
Garden Grill
Le Cellier (DH & I to celebrate our 10th anniversary)
Cape May Café (Mom, Moms DBF, DSis, DS & DD, while were at LC)
Crystal Palace
50s Prime Time
Boma
Cinderellas Royal Table
Whispering Canyon Café
Sci Fi Dine-in Theater
Chef Mickeys
The kids are doing the Pirate Adventure at the Grand Floridian, DD will be heading to the BBB before our lunch at CRT and we are all ending our stay with the GG Magical Fireworks Voyage.
Okay for those who just want the facts, stop now. However, if youve got some time and would like to know how this Grand gathering came to being, grab some popcorn
and keep reading . . .
The whole Disney extravaganza is really my friend, Pams fault. About 18 months ago, Pam mailed my DS8 some books, one of which was the Carole Marsh mystery that takes place at Disney World. Somewhere between Liberty Square and Frontierland, my son asked me, Mom, when can we go to Disney World?
These words really tugged at my heart strings. Growing up, my Mom had always wanted to take us to Disney World, but for a single Mom of 3 girls living on a bank tellers salary, it wasnt even a remote possibility. Not that we never went anywhere. Mom always found a way to swing a day trip to Riverside Park (Agawam, MA) or Story Town (Lake George, NY) just about every year. It was a fun trip, slipping and sliding our way down on the vinyl seat in the back of my Moms friends pick up truck. (By the way, my safety-freak-since-I-had-kids side is just dying at this complete lack of seat belts.)
Anyway, Im getting off track---back to Disneyokay, so at this point, I know that I want to go and since DH had said that he wanted to wait until the kiddies were old enough to remember it, I think I have a good shot of talking him into it now that they are 8 & 4. I dont really remember how that conversation went, but Im sure there was begging, pleading, and maybe even conniving on my part. Anyway, DH finally gave the go-ahead, but did not want DS to miss any school and we are northerners at heart and climatically (possibly not a word, but you get what I mean) so we tentatively plan for April 2007.
The obsession begins . . . I cant say for sure, but Im willing to bet my favorite pair of comfy pants that I went out to the bookstore and bought not 1 or 2, but 3 Disney books that very same day. I hadnt discovered the DIS or TGM yet, so these were not the right books, but they were a start. Again, obsessing begins, I start to read at all free moments and quickly discover that April vacation time is one of the worst times to go. Yikes! You have to understand, DH and DS do NOT do well in crowded, long line situations. I have visions of spending thousands of dollars only to be starring in my very own film, Disney with the Cranks. Mercifully, a friend mentions that our county has published the 2006-2007 school calendar and she thinks there are two consecutive days off in January. Nest pas, you dont say? Well, its a Thursday/Friday combo and the previous Monday is a half day, so we can get 8 days at Disney with only 2.5 days of school missed. I present my case to DH, showing him the little colored attendance graph from my guide book along with my own not so professional graph of the $$$ we will be spending and he agrees! Woo hoo, our first crisis averted.
I thought I had pleaded my last case before the court, but then I thought of something newwouldnt it be GREAT if we could take my Mom. She always wanted to go and sacrificed so much when we were little. (You have to understand that my husband loves my Mom, but he also cherishes time alone as a family, so this is why I needed to plead my case.) The other great thing about DH is that he loves me and genuinely wants to make me happy, so if I present a good case, he will usually capitulate (I love the sound of that wordhavent had a use for it since the SATs, but its just a great word.) to my wishes.
Moms birthday is in March, so we wrap a Disney guide book with a note asking her to come with us and she is very excited!!! I mention the trip to my dear in-laws and they would like to meet us for a few days. Mom wants DBF to come along, so we add him to the tally. A few months later, DSis asks if she can come along and voila, we have one Grand Gathering!
I think were up to somewhere in the neighborhood of June or July. From then on, I was a plan-o-holic. It seemed that each day I found some new source or tidbit. Ive lost count, but there were many, many drafts to our itinerary and then I found the DIS in October.
I wish there was a way to add sound, because it seems like this should be the moment when the choir pipes in with Halleluiah! Halleluiah!, (Im not sure what that overture is called and its too late to call DMIL, who is a retired music teacher, but you get the idea.) I Dissed and found more information in 1 month than I had in the last 9! I started reading my first TR, Lexmelindas, and was hooked. By the way, LM, if youre reading, TGM needs to give you a commission. I thought I was done planning, but after your TGM praise, with only a few months to go, I subscribed and revamped my itin yet again.
So here I am, pretty much done planning and twiddling my thumbs with 15 days to go and yet still I DIS because you all are just too funny! So thanks for all the advice and the entertainment! I have so enjoyed visiting Disney vicariously through so many of your trip reports. I cant wait to share the rest of ours in just a few weeks!
(Okay, so at 9 pm, when I started writing this, it was 15 days to go, but now it's 14--who knew that a TR installment could take so long!)
Cast of Characters:
Me, 33, full-time Mom. This is my first time ever going to Disney World. To my husbands dismay, I am probably more excited than our two children! The only way I can possibly stand the wait is to obsessively and compulsively plan for said trip.
DH33, an officer in the Coast Guard, went to Disney a few times with his parents in the 70s & 80s. Has given up hopes of containing my excitement and just prefers I keep him in the dark as to my ever-tweaked itinerary. Has been know to wave off other family members or friends who start to or look as if they are about to ask me what our plans are for Disney.
DS8, loves Legos, video games, Star Wars & roller coasters. It was a dream come true for him when we found out about the free ticket upgrade that will allow him to head to Disney Quest!
DD4, cant wait to meet the Princesses, especially Ariel, her favorite. My
DMIL has always called her Princess, and she has learned to like it. In fact, she's looking for an upgrade. Once, while wearing a tiara, someone called her a Princess and she said, quite formally, Im not a Princess, Im the Queen. just what we needed, royalty in our home, Thanks Grandma.
DM48, yes, DM means dear mother and yes all you mathematicians
she is a very young Mom. In fact, I think spiritually, our ages should be switched. My DM loves to go out, drink & be merry. Although she is planning to take the kids for a night so DH & I can do Le Cellier, adult style, she is not your typical grandmother. She has plans to live it up and to check out the Disney nightlife.(sorry, I don't have a picture handy, but will add one later)
Moms DBF60, of Irish descent and is a real wise guy. Rides and Disney really arent his kind of thing, but hes going for Mom and when his fun meter gets pegged, will most likely retreat to one of Disneys many lounges for a cigar and some adult refreshment--I'm sure there's a few spots/drinks you can all recommend!
(DSis on left)
DSIS24, works at a group home and will be celebrating her birthday the day before we arrive. Although she is not thrilled about rooming with Mom & Moms DBF, she cant complain about the price of her accommodationsfree!
DMIL & DFIL, 50-somethings (DH isnt quite sure), are retired teachers. The last time they went to Disney World, they camped with DH and his 2 other teen/pre-teen brothers at Fort Wilderness. DFIL is looking forward to Epcot at an adult pace while DMIL cant wait to share Its a Small World with DD4. **As I type, whether or not DMIL & DFIL are going to be able to make it is uncertain. DMIL just found out that she needs to have back surgery and it doesnt look as if it is the kind that can wait.
(pic to follow)
DUncle 50 this year & DAunt, 40-something, are Annual Passholders and big Disney fans who live in Sanford. Their reward for answering my many phone calls/questions in the last year about all things Disney and supplying my children with numerous Disney pins and other park essentials is a great excuse to play hooky (spelling?) from work while they join us for random parts of our 1st vacation.
(don't even have a pic of these guys, sorry)
DAunts Sister & DAunts Sisters Boyfriend will also be joining us for a couple of evenings
Key facts:
When: Arriving January 20, Departing January 28th via Magical Express
Where: Port Orleans French Quarter
Why: Because it looked so beautiful and with the Jan upgrades/discounts and the dining
plan, it was cheaper than Shades of Green
ADRs: OHana
Garden Grill
Le Cellier (DH & I to celebrate our 10th anniversary)
Cape May Café (Mom, Moms DBF, DSis, DS & DD, while were at LC)
Crystal Palace
50s Prime Time
Boma
Cinderellas Royal Table
Whispering Canyon Café
Sci Fi Dine-in Theater
Chef Mickeys
The kids are doing the Pirate Adventure at the Grand Floridian, DD will be heading to the BBB before our lunch at CRT and we are all ending our stay with the GG Magical Fireworks Voyage.
Okay for those who just want the facts, stop now. However, if youve got some time and would like to know how this Grand gathering came to being, grab some popcorn
and keep reading . . .The whole Disney extravaganza is really my friend, Pams fault. About 18 months ago, Pam mailed my DS8 some books, one of which was the Carole Marsh mystery that takes place at Disney World. Somewhere between Liberty Square and Frontierland, my son asked me, Mom, when can we go to Disney World?
These words really tugged at my heart strings. Growing up, my Mom had always wanted to take us to Disney World, but for a single Mom of 3 girls living on a bank tellers salary, it wasnt even a remote possibility. Not that we never went anywhere. Mom always found a way to swing a day trip to Riverside Park (Agawam, MA) or Story Town (Lake George, NY) just about every year. It was a fun trip, slipping and sliding our way down on the vinyl seat in the back of my Moms friends pick up truck. (By the way, my safety-freak-since-I-had-kids side is just dying at this complete lack of seat belts.)
Anyway, Im getting off track---back to Disneyokay, so at this point, I know that I want to go and since DH had said that he wanted to wait until the kiddies were old enough to remember it, I think I have a good shot of talking him into it now that they are 8 & 4. I dont really remember how that conversation went, but Im sure there was begging, pleading, and maybe even conniving on my part. Anyway, DH finally gave the go-ahead, but did not want DS to miss any school and we are northerners at heart and climatically (possibly not a word, but you get what I mean) so we tentatively plan for April 2007.
The obsession begins . . . I cant say for sure, but Im willing to bet my favorite pair of comfy pants that I went out to the bookstore and bought not 1 or 2, but 3 Disney books that very same day. I hadnt discovered the DIS or TGM yet, so these were not the right books, but they were a start. Again, obsessing begins, I start to read at all free moments and quickly discover that April vacation time is one of the worst times to go. Yikes! You have to understand, DH and DS do NOT do well in crowded, long line situations. I have visions of spending thousands of dollars only to be starring in my very own film, Disney with the Cranks. Mercifully, a friend mentions that our county has published the 2006-2007 school calendar and she thinks there are two consecutive days off in January. Nest pas, you dont say? Well, its a Thursday/Friday combo and the previous Monday is a half day, so we can get 8 days at Disney with only 2.5 days of school missed. I present my case to DH, showing him the little colored attendance graph from my guide book along with my own not so professional graph of the $$$ we will be spending and he agrees! Woo hoo, our first crisis averted.
I thought I had pleaded my last case before the court, but then I thought of something newwouldnt it be GREAT if we could take my Mom. She always wanted to go and sacrificed so much when we were little. (You have to understand that my husband loves my Mom, but he also cherishes time alone as a family, so this is why I needed to plead my case.) The other great thing about DH is that he loves me and genuinely wants to make me happy, so if I present a good case, he will usually capitulate (I love the sound of that wordhavent had a use for it since the SATs, but its just a great word.) to my wishes.
Moms birthday is in March, so we wrap a Disney guide book with a note asking her to come with us and she is very excited!!! I mention the trip to my dear in-laws and they would like to meet us for a few days. Mom wants DBF to come along, so we add him to the tally. A few months later, DSis asks if she can come along and voila, we have one Grand Gathering!
I think were up to somewhere in the neighborhood of June or July. From then on, I was a plan-o-holic. It seemed that each day I found some new source or tidbit. Ive lost count, but there were many, many drafts to our itinerary and then I found the DIS in October.
I wish there was a way to add sound, because it seems like this should be the moment when the choir pipes in with Halleluiah! Halleluiah!, (Im not sure what that overture is called and its too late to call DMIL, who is a retired music teacher, but you get the idea.) I Dissed and found more information in 1 month than I had in the last 9! I started reading my first TR, Lexmelindas, and was hooked. By the way, LM, if youre reading, TGM needs to give you a commission. I thought I was done planning, but after your TGM praise, with only a few months to go, I subscribed and revamped my itin yet again.
So here I am, pretty much done planning and twiddling my thumbs with 15 days to go and yet still I DIS because you all are just too funny! So thanks for all the advice and the entertainment! I have so enjoyed visiting Disney vicariously through so many of your trip reports. I cant wait to share the rest of ours in just a few weeks!
(Okay, so at 9 pm, when I started writing this, it was 15 days to go, but now it's 14--who knew that a TR installment could take so long!)
DH is already saying that he doesn't know what I am going to do with myself when we get back. He thinks I'm going to need a post-Disney plan for withdrawal symptoms. 
I haven't told him the proven Disboard cure--another trip! 
She was hoping to find a doctor who would agree to just keep her on prednisone for the rest of her life, but no luck. She is the kind of person who is always taking care of everyone else, so this is hard for her.
Since this is my first trip, I'd love to hear any thoughts on our proposed touring:
Thanks for your input! 
