Less than 2 weeks to go! A Not Colonial Williamsburg pre-trip report: 9/19-27

[charmama4]

that's almost the same spacing as our boys, btw--except you're even closer with the first two. My first our almost exactly 2 years apart (minus 4 days) and then exactly 2 1/2 years for the next two. It's nice to see tales of people who've been there and come out the other side alive And even ready to take on another round! I always keep the idea of fostering and/or adopting someday in the back of my mind...it's hard to imagine that we're really all done with babies!

NO way? well, we know what you guys were doing, hehehehe. My boys are May 26, then May 25, and finally May30, Those were the days....DizNee Luver you are an inspiration that kokotg and I will make it through. I just know if I had Erin first I would have had my tubes tied then and there girls are something else!!!

 

[kaoden39]

NO way? well, we know what you guys were doing, hehehehe. My boys are May 26, then May 25, and finally May30, Those were the days....DizNee Luver you are an inspiration that kokotg and I will make it through. I just know if I had Erin first I would have had my tubes tied then and there girls are something else!!!

Truer words have never been spoken. I have two teenage daughters and a son that may as well be a teenager he turns thirteen at the end of July. And I tell you the girls are turning me grey and my son is so much easier going in so many ways.

 

[kokotg]

Truer words have never been spoken. I have two teenage daughters and a son that may as well be a teenager he turns thirteen at the end of July. And I tell you the girls are turning me grey and my son is so much easier going in so many ways.

Yes, I hear that I'll appreciate having boys instead of girls when they're all teenagers ...although I'm not sure how we're going to afford groceries!

 

[charmama4]

Yes, I hear that I'll appreciate having boys instead of girls when they're all teenagers ...although I'm not sure how we're going to afford groceries!

The boys are already eating us out of house and home!!!

 

[kaoden39]

Ladies my oldest daughter who will be 16 on Friday that is a size 7 eats as much as any boy she knows. So......Imagine 3 teenagers.....And a husband that rides a bicycle and burn 4000 calories at a time and comes home and eats.

 

[DizNee Luver]

You will survive.....but you will definately earn every grey hair!!! The boys I agree were easier......Addy (3) is already a Diva & woof, if she doesn't get her way!!!

 

[charmama4]

Ladies my oldest daughter who will be 16 on Friday that is a size 7 eats as much as any boy she knows. So......Imagine 3 teenagers.....And a husband that rides a bicycle and burn 4000 calories at a time and comes home and eats.

oh good gracious!!!!

 

[kaoden39]

oh good gracious!!!!

Yeah grocery shopping and cooking are so fun.

 

[charmama4]

You will survive.....but you will definately earn every grey hair!!! The boys I agree were easier......Addy (3) is already a Diva & woof, if she doesn't get her way!!!

Grey hair?....what grey hair?....have no idea what you are talking about

 

[kaoden39]

Grey hair?....what grey hair?....have no idea what you are talking about

Which one of us has the time for grey hair? I mean goodness it can't catch up because we are always running after our kids.

 

[kokotg]

Part 3: Pictures and Guide Books!

I keep reading people requesting more pictures on other trip reports, so I feel obliged to include some here…but it’s made more difficult by the fact that we haven’t actually gone anywhere yet. But I will do my best. For example, here’s an important one. This is my nephew, Louis, the youngest member of our party :

And here’s a picture of Benjamin all by himself, instead of squashed in next to his cousins:

And here are Amy and Craig (along with Dave), acting goofy at my in-laws beach house last summer (my MIL and DH’s aunt own a house on Cape Cod that their parents bought in the ‘60’s for, you know…$3 or something, back when regular folks could buy beach houses. We go up there every summer, and it’s really fabulous):

And then Nana and Grandpa, since they were wearing funny glasses in the other picture of them (Grandpa won’t be coming this year, barring a big change in plans):

Okay, so when I last left off, there was much indecision as to what to do about a rental car. Minivan or crowded regular car? Amy and Craig are planning to drive down in their (5 seat) car, though, so that pretty much made our minds up; we need to get a minivan or my MIL won’t really have anywhere to sit. So there you have it. The minivan is all booked. We’re actually going to pick it up in Anaheim, about a mile from our hotel, on Sunday—the day after we get there—instead of at the airport. We don’t need it at all until we leave DL on Thursday morning, but the cheapest way to do it was to pick it up on Sunday so that it would be a week’s rental. The ways of rental car pricing are mysterious. So we’ll need to take a taxi from the airport to the HOJO Saturday. I actually need to check into that a little more and see if it really makes sense to do that instead of paying to have the car a day longer; I was really getting a headache from sifting through all the car rental possibilities. Fortunately, we don’t have to pay for the car rental until we pick it up, so we’re free to change our minds 800 times before then!

And I said I’d do mini reviews for the guide book collection I’m acquiring. Of course, my reviews will be somewhat hampered by the fact that I haven’t actually BEEN to DL yet, so I can’t really say how helpful the books will have turned out to be in the end. They’re also somewhat hampered by the fact that I can’t FIND the Unofficial Guide right now, but here goes anyway!

Unofficial Guide to Disneyland: Let me say first that I am a big, big fan of the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World. Buying the new edition and reading through it is a yearly ritual for me before our WDW trips. So this was the first book I thought of getting when we decided to go to Disneyland. And, yet…I find myself a bit disappointed in it; largely because I feel like I’ve read it already. A whole lot of the book is exactly the same as the WDW book. Now, I guess for a lot of sections this makes sense...why rewrite the section on touring theme parks with kids, for example? But then even the readers’ comments are exactly the same for a lot of the attractions…which means they’re not really comments from readers who were at Disneyland. I guess it doesn’t really matter if we’re talking about a duplicate attraction, but it still kind of bothered me. Of course a lot of my disappointment has to do with my being so familiar with the WDW version of the book. If that weren’t the case, and I were looking for a DL guidebook, this one has a lot of the same qualities that make the WDW version great: it’s encyclopedic and it’s honest—I might not agree with all of their opinions, but I know they’re not just going to tell me everything Disney does is perfect. And their touring advice is very thorough. Even if you don’t use the touring plans, they give specific recommendations on how to keep the wait time to a minimum for each individual ride.

…I had to interrupt my writing to go watch Lost, so now it’s getting late, and I’m going to hold off on the other book until next time. Plus, you know, I have to drag these pre-trip updates out for the next 5 ½ months, so there’s really no rush

Here are links, btw, to my trip reports past, for anyone who just can’t get enough of me or who has a lot of extra time on his or her hands. I should probably update my sig to include these at some point.

2006/Wilderness Lodge:DH + Crush 4-ever
2007/Pop Century: Pirates of the Quesadilla
2008/Off property w/ the in-laws (err, I didn’t actually finish this one, but the beginning’s there anyway):We're ALL Old Enough for Disney World!

And one more picture—this is Gus on the train up to Cape Cod last summer, very sleepy and cuddling with the big mouse himself:

 

[charmama4]

The newborn baby is precious!!! Congrats to your inlaws!
Am loving the pictures, keep them coming.

 

[kaoden39]

I am throwing in a vote for the minivan. we have one and the kids get space when we go anywhere and there is room for luggage. The kids are so cute.

 

[charmama4]

I am throwing in a vote for the minivan. we have one and the kids get space when we go anywhere and there is room for luggage. The kids are so cute.

I vote for th evan too. At least you will *start* off with more room but by the end of your trip you'll wonder where all the room went to

 

[DizNee Luver]

Grey hair?....what grey hair?....have no idea what you are talking about

Which one of us has the time for grey hair? I mean goodness it can't catch up because we are always running after our kids.

I just "hide" mine......lol thank you Clairol!!!


Adorable baby & Gus has the bluest eyes!!! Precious!!
I have to throw my vote in on the van as well...... It doesn't take much to fill a car & the van will max out too before the end of your trip!

 

[disney-inspired]

Ok, I'm in!
Omg, Gus is ADORABLE!

Can't wait!

 

[charmama4]

I just "hide" mine......lol thank you Clairol!!!

You know Miss. Clairol, too? Oh we have been friends for years

 

[kaoden39]

I just "hide" mine......lol thank you Clairol!!!


Adorable baby & Gus has the bluest eyes!!! Precious!!
I have to throw my vote in on the van as well...... It doesn't take much to fill a car & the van will max out too before the end of your trip!

Oh yeah our old friend Miss Clarol....Isn't she sweet?

 

[amamax2]

Hi,

Hope it is OK to jump in here!

We are a homeschooling family in San Diego planning our first ever Walt Disney World trip in conjunction with a trip to Williamsburg and D.C. My two boys are 12 & 10, and we will be tarveling almost the exact dates you are!

I googled Williamsburg and homeschooling and this thread came up!!! When I saw it was from disboards, I naturally HAD to read it.

Great pre-trip report, btw! I wanted to offer a suggestion regarding Legoland if your plans are not set in stone yet....Legoland offers Homeschool Days beginning in Sept and the prices are super cheap compared to regular admission. Currently it is $17 a person; based on what has been happening each year, I think it will probably go to $19 or $20 in Sept, but still, for a family of five, about $100 total versus almost $300!!

Register anytime at the Legoland website and they will send you a "coupon" to use with your name on it - it is good for six admissions and you MUST bring it with you to get that rate.

Only catch as far as your plans is that the past two years, the Homeschool Days are on Mondays (every Mon except during holiday periods). BUT, it is such a great day to go - the park is dead. And Legoland is only an hour's drive from Disneyland, and at that time of year the park hours are usually 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., so you could easily go down and back the same day, then do DL with an extra day added on to the other end, still staying at Hojo's.

And the best days for DL are T, W, and Th - we have been many, many times (AP holders up unitl Jan) and Sept is a wonderful time to go.

So HTH!

Wanted to also let you know that DL is a piece of cake compared to WDW - I am completely overwhelmed reading about it. At DL, everything is right there - hotels, DL, DCA, DTD - no busses, we've NEVER done ADRs except for character breakfasts, to park hop you walk for 30 seconds from one to the other, etc.

Anyways, sorry for going on and on, but wanted to share with a fellow homeschooler...let me know if you have any questions and have a fantastic trip!

Michelle

 

[charmama4]

Hi,

Hope it is OK to jump in here!

We are a homeschooling family in San Diego planning our first ever Walt Disney World trip in conjunction with a trip to Williamsburg and D.C. My two boys are 12 & 10, and we will be tarveling almost the exact dates you are!

I googled Williamsburg and homeschooling and this thread came up!!! When I saw it was from disboards, I naturally HAD to read it.

Great pre-trip report, btw! I wanted to offer a suggestion regarding Legoland if your plans are not set in stone yet....Legoland offers Homeschool Days beginning in Sept and the prices are super cheap compared to regular admission. Currently it is $17 a person; based on what has been happening each year, I think it will probably go to $19 or $20 in Sept, but still, for a family of five, about $100 total versus almost $300!!

Register anytime at the Legoland website and they will send you a "coupon" to use with your name on it - it is good for six admissions and you MUST bring it with you to get that rate.

Only catch as far as your plans is that the past two years, the Homeschool Days are on Mondays (every Mon except during holiday periods). BUT, it is such a great day to go - the park is dead. And Legoland is only an hour's drive from Disneyland, and at that time of year the park hours are usually 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., so you could easily go down and back the same day, then do DL with an extra day added on to the other end, still staying at Hojo's.

And the best days for DL are T, W, and Th - we have been many, many times (AP holders up unitl Jan) and Sept is a wonderful time to go.

So HTH!

Wanted to also let you know that DL is a piece of cake compared to WDW - I am completely overwhelmed reading about it. At DL, everything is right there - hotels, DL, DCA, DTD - no busses, we've NEVER done ADRs except for character breakfasts, to park hop you walk for 30 seconds from one to the other, etc.

Anyways, sorry for going on and on, but wanted to share with a fellow homeschooler...let me know if you have any questions and have a fantastic trip!

Michelle

we homeschool also, that's what brought me to kokotg's preTR and we are also from San Diego!! I miss home. We are in Cheyenne Wyoming at the moment. We are a military family.

I don't plan on doing WDW for a few more years, until DD is about 9 and her older brothers will be 16, 14 and 12.

Hey, kokotg have you been to WDW yet?