Let's get this party started...Live from the World (with laryngitis!??)

[Vacation Lover]

We're leaving in 2 days so let's get the preliminaries out of the way! Then maybe I'll even have a chance to update when we get there.

First, the cast:
Me, Lyndsey, the Mom and the Planner. I'm a SAHM and "professional volunteer," as I like to refer to it. I had a week-long trip planned for this past October, right down to the ADRs, deposit on a condo, and a pre-trip report on the Dis, but that trip didn't materialize. More on that, and how this shorter version of that trip came about later.

Bill, my DH, the Dad. He's pretty much along for the ride. He knows how much time and energy I put into our plans, and, except to say "yay" or "nay" when I ask his input, he stays out of it. He's a huge South Carolina Gamecocks fan and we plan vacations around football season. (This will come into play when we discuss our non-October vacation.)

Will, DS, 11 in the 6th grade. Will's still excited about Disney, but definitely showing some "coolness" that he didn't show on our last trip, which was 2 1/2 years ago. You know, things like, he sort of shrugs his shoulders when asked for input on attractions or autographs or pin trading, like it doesn't really matter to him. Will pretty much marches to the beat of his own drum; anyone who wants to join him is welcome, but he's not going to change his beat. He just started playing Lacrosse, which is a sport brand new to our area. His favorite thing ever is video games/computer games/DSi games, with Legos running a distant second.

Sarah Anne, DD, 10 in 4th grade. Sarah Anne is the big sister in our family, and, to be honest, probably more mature than her brother. She is one of those All-Around kids, who's good at pretty much everything. She gets straight A's, sings in Honors Chorus, plays soccer, and joins all sorts of activities. I'm enjoying her while I can because every once in a while I get a glimpse of the not-so-distant teen years with the emotion and drama.

Kate, DD, 4, turning 5 in 2 weeks. Kate is the typical baby of the family, especially since she's so much younger than her brother and sister. She is a home-body--always wants to play at her own house--but she cannot stand it if there aren't friends around to play with. The more the merrier, in Kate's world. It's not unusual for me to have 5 preschoolers playing at our house after preschool gets out for the day. One more thing about Kate--she is terrified of Characters, any characters and all characters. Gamecock Mascot, Cocky? She has progressed to waving at him from a distance. Mickey, Minnie and the gang? She promises she will get a picture taken with them (but NOT hug them!) when she is 5. And she's quick to point out that she's still 4 on this trip. Princesses? She's not sure what she'll do, but she might actually speak to them this time. She sat on Santa's lap for the first time ever the Christmas (with the support of her 3 best friends) and is so proud of that accomplishment.

So, that's us in a nutshell. Here's a picture.

I'll be back later to tell more about the plans for our quick trip.

 

[Vacation Lover]

So, I had done a PTR for the non-vacation but....because it was a non-vacation...I dropped it from my signature. So if you really get bored and want to read about my plans for the non-vacation, here's the link.

And for those of you who don't want to bother reading about a non-vacation, here's the gist of it.

I wanted to take a vacation and started planning before I was even sure we were going. We already had a lot of fun things planned for the year, and I wasn't sure that Disney would work into our schedule. So I started researching, and research turned to planning and then my DH said he thought a trip would be fun and, well, the next thing I knew I had planned a vacation! I had the whole thing planned--Knew which park we were going to on which day, had ADRs made, and sent a (non-refundable--ugh!) deposit for a townhouse at Windsor Hills.

Summer flew by, and before I knew it we were heading to our end-of-the-summer vacation with friends at the beach. I started thinking to myself, wow, I have scheduled another vacation just 6 weeks after we return from the beach, and right at the beginning of the school year; maybe we should have spread things out a bit. Plus, I was thinking maybe I wanted something a bit different from Disney--something a little more relaxing, like a cruise. But still...ADRs...Deposit...Plans made... so I kept things as they were.

So, Football season was quickly approaching. Like a good Gamecock fan, I had planned the Disney trip on an away game that would most likely be on TV, against Alabama, so this wasn't an issue. But then Bill gets a call from one of his old college buddies--due to his great sales, the guy is getting taken on a trip to any South Carolina football game he wants...and he can bring some buddies! And guess which game he chose to attend? Doh!

Bill soooo wanted to go, but told his friend that we already had plans that weekend. I said, "you know, I wouldn't mind waiting a little longer so we could put some space between our vacations," and we talked about it some more. Then while we were at the beach with our friends, talk of taking a cruise in January popped up and my vacation planning radar went off. Cruise?! Did someone say cruise?! A vacation with my family is fun, but a vacation with friends? On a cruise ship? Triple fun!!

I got home from the beach and immediately began researching. E-mailed everyone some options, ranging form the Disney Cruise to Royal Caribbean to Carnival. But suddenly when it was time to start making some decisions, for various reasons, the other families couldn't commit. That was okay. I still had my planned Disney vacation...ADRs, Deposit, plans... All that work put into planning. Okay, so it was more fun than work, but still...

But I could tell, Bill reallllllly wanted to do this guys weekend, and he so deserved to have one. He works so hard, and, like they say, there's no friend like an old friend--it's always a good time when we get together with college friends. And ever since we moved to our area 6 years ago, he really hasn't made the kind of friendships we had in our old town. He used to have golfing buddies and we went out regularly with our "supper club" friends and, well, now we're just in a different stage of life. But still, we miss those friendships, Anyway...you see where I'm headed...I told him, "Let's scrap the Disney plans. Go on the Alabama weekend, and we'll plan something for January."

So I cancelled the ADRs, cancelled the room, scrapped the plans and started over, this time with some plans for relaxation. I looked at our cruise quotes, and, as much as I wanted to do the Disney cruise (we did one back in 2002 and it was AWESOME!) I just couldn't justify the expense. It was going to be, like, $5,000 for a 7 day or $3,000 for a 4 day. And those were the cheap rooms! On the other hand, Royal Caribbean had a great deal going--less than $1,600 for 2 connecting exterior rooms--so I jumped on it for the week of MLK.

So, with the cruise plans set, I started thinking about Disney again. The cruise leaves on Monday. The kids are off school the Friday before MLK, so that will give us 3 full days at Disney before we head for Port Canaveral. I immediately went back to my research and started making some plans! (But no PTR this time...I didn't want to jinx it!)

 

[Vacation Lover]

Here's a quick rundown of our plans. This report will probably be short and sweet, since there are only 3 days to report on, and I guess a TR on our Royal Caribbean cruise on the Disboards would be pretty pointless!

We are planning to stay at a condo at Windsor Hills. My MIL, Sally, and her friend, Linda, live in Florida and they are planning to join us. We got a 3 bedroom condo at Windsor Hills so we could all stay together. I'm looking forward to checking out Windsor Hills, even though we won't have much time at the resort this time around.

Thursday, 1/14
Drive down--trying to leave by 4pm, which will get us there around 11 or 12, depending on the number of stops. Not looking forward to the drive so much. Kate is a terrible rider and it's been a while--actually since our last Disney trip--since we took a road trip longer than 3 1/2 hours.

Friday, 1/15
Breakfast at the condo then off to Hollywood Studios.
Lunch at Sci Fi; no specific plans for dinner yet. We might just pick up a pizza on the way back to the condo.

Saturday, 1/16
Breakfast at the condo, then off to Epcot.
Lunch at Le Cellier first time eating there--I hope it's as good as the reviews! I left dinner open; thinking we'll just pick up counter service after our big lunch, or maybe do spaghetti back at the condo.

Sunday, 1/17
Leisurely breakfast at the condo, then DisneyQuest.
I know, I know--we're actually going to Disney and NOT doing the Magic Kingdom! But then consensus was that the older kids (and the adults) wanted Epcot and HS more, and since Kate doesn't do rides or characters, MK was not a priority. Anyway, the kids are so excited about DQ; it's actually Will's favorite "park!" We'll hit Earl of Sandwich for lunch and do some shopping--no doubt we'll be hitting the Lego store. Then I have dinner reservations at Kona so we can watch Wishes from the beachl.

Monday, 1/18
Breakfast reservations at Whispering Canyon. The kids LOVED WC last time and are so excited to go back. I've marked this meal as a birthday celebration for Kate, so hopefully they'll sing to her or something. Then we're off to Port Canaveral and the Bahamas.

Thanks for reading. I'm getting excited!!

 

[Vacation Lover]

A quick update this morning before I head out to... The CVS Minute Clinic
UGH! I felt a sore throat coming on Thursday--the day we left and by Saturday my voice was completely gone. I spent the day trying to communicate at Epcot with a whisper/scream! If I yelled as loud as I could (when talking to a CM or answering one of my kids many questions--they just couldn't comprehend that my voice was gone.) then I could speak with a squeak! Anyway, I will write the details when we get back to let you know how/if this affected the fun.

 

[OhMari]

Oh, I hope you are feeling better.
Enjoy your cruise too, your going right?
I did a cruise with my 3 dd's last August with RCCL.
We enjoyed it, but the alcohol drinks can end up being expensive.

 

[wannago2disney]

you have a beautiful family. so sorry you are not feeling well. I do hope you make it to your cruise.

I would love to hear about your cruise experience...see picutres. I have never been on a cruise but we are considering it for our 10th anniversary in 2 yrs. (with or without the kids not sure) so I would love to know how you felt about it.

GEt well!