Before I get back to my August trip, I realized that I created a new ticker for my signature and never really explained it. That was kind of rude of me.
So, here’s what up and coming with my family in terms of Disney.
Next month:
AKA: July
AKA: The hottest month in Florida.
AKA: The month I plan outside activities at 8 o’clock in the morning and 5 o’clock in the afternoon in efforts to avoid the searing hot sun and/or lovely muggy rainshowers.
AKA: The month my family is taking a quick getaway to Disney World!
Yep. We are that nutso.
Actually, we didn’t have much of a choice.
Alex and I wanted to get back to Disney World at some point before this fall, and my mom couldn’t go a whole year without visiting the parks. Plus, the standards for leave changed at the beginning of the year and Alex was informed he has 16.5 use or lose leave days before the last day of September. Yeah, 16.5. He gets 2.5 days a month, and since he was deployed for so long, he wasn’t able to use any of them. Basically, by the end of the fiscal year, you can only have 60 days built up and Alex will end up with 76.5.
So Alex had some leave to take.
It was too late for Alex to request leave for May, and in June the only week available was around Father’s Day, which wouldn’t have been nice to do to my dad. And then even that month was out of the question because too many other people took time off at Alex’s job.
Nobody wanted to go to Disney in early July, because the crowds around the 4th would be crazy. (And, once again, too many people would be getting 3 day weekends to make it possible for Alex to break away.)
So mid-July was kind of chosen for us, and put in the books. (It didn’t hurt that this was the week after Alex’s math class ends, so no homework for him on vacation.) Alex got the time off, and we figured even if we chickened out on the trip, he could still use the time to relax.
Now, before you think we are absolutely out of our minds, let me state our case as to why this little getaway won’t be a complete disaster.
Number 1: We live in Florida. We live with a toddler. The difference in where we are at and Disney is maybe 2-5 degrees. If it’s hot and humid at home, ten to one it’s hot and humid at the parks. And with a 2 year old, I end up outside a lot of the day, anyways. Most of the time, we’re at a park or a splash pad or the beach or my parent’s pool. Even the garage is a popular playground for Landon. The heat doesn’t bother kids, so I just have to adapt and overcome.
So, for that week in July, I am either going to be hot and sweaty and gross in and around my town or in one of the Disney parks.
Number 2: Alex’s family could drive over and visit with us. Two of his siblings live in Orlando and his parents are 45 minutes away. Plenty close to hop over for some quality time with their grandson/nephew.
Number 3: This trip is costing us almost nothing since my mom and I are splitting the costs.
We’re staying at Shades of Green.
The rooms are massive and by sharing it and the cost of gas with my Mom, neither of us are spending much to go.
Number 4: I’m going to get a much appreciated break. Like almost every trip, Alex came at me with an arsenal of reasons why we needed to do this. And this time, his main point was that he could take Landon off my hands a lot of the time and go to the parks while I hung back at the pool. I got the chance to experience Disney with Landon in August and December; this time around Alex could do that. All I have to do is pack extra sunscreen and my favorite flip flops.
And finally, Number 5: Landon needs a haircut.
You can’t really see it in this picture, but my kid definitely has a case of wild and crazy hairs.
Actually, he doesn’t absolutely NEED a cut, more like a trim, but if we don’t do it now, we’d have to wait another 10 months, and Alex refuses to let his son’s hair get that long.
We both have always wanted to get Landon’s first cut at Harmony Barber Shop, which meant we needed to go to Disney to do it.
And, to stretch the case even farther, we kind of wanted one last hurrah with Landon before the fall. His poor little life is going to get turned upside down, and we figured one last vacation as a family of 3 was appropriate.
So there you have it.
My mom, Alex, Landon, and I are all headed to Disney World next month for a couple of nights. We only have 2 dining reservations booked, and I don’t have any set park itineraries planned, so this is going to be slow and relaxed, and hopefully very laid back. Alex and I are getting Annual Passes, and we’re going to celebrate the last chance we have to get Landon in before he’s 3, because next time, he won’t be.
Which leads us to the BIG TRIP.
May 2016.
THE trip.
Hopefully, the trip that is going to have Alex and I go out with a bang.
My husband and I are working hard to get orders for next summer. We’d love to go overseas, but at this point, we’ll take anywhere. But wherever we head, it’ll be for at least 4 years, so our days of living 6 hours from Walt Disney World are potentially numbered. A trip in May could very well be the last trip we take for at least 2 years.
So we want to make it awesome.
We don’t have any dates set in stone yet, nor do we have the length of the trip nailed down, but we do have a couple of details sorted out
First and foremost, my dad’s FINALLY coming along! Only took us 4 years to get him to do it.
And actually, he never completely agreed. My mom’s just kind of telling him he’s going. We all know once he’s there he’ll have a fantastic time; we just might have to listen to him gripe during the weeks leading up to it…
Our focus will be on:
Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival!
My favorite yearly event.
Not to sound like a broken record here, but my dad is going to go bonkers over the events, and if we combine that with Star Wars Weekend, he’ll be on Cloud 9.
My parents will be joining Alex and my family either during the last or beginning half of our vacation. My mom’s planning 5 nights at Disney, and we will all hopefully be staying at:
The Beach Club!
Told you this was an all-out trip.
My mom wants her and my dad to be able to walk to Epcot. My dad for the Festival, her for Soarin’. Alex has always dreamed of staying at the Beach Club, and since I’ve gotten to experience all my favorite deluxes, it was time I let Alex have his turn.
It won’t hurt that the Beach Club has Stormalong Bay, which will be the coolest thing ever for a 3 year old Landon.
And for me to be in close proximity to Beaches and Cream? I’ll find a way to survive…
For the second half of our trip (either before or after my parents leave) we are hoping to stay at a resort I’ve been eyeballing for a year or so.
Every single time I visit Art of Animation, I fall in love with the place. I love the food selection at Landscape of Flavors, I love the theming of each building, I love the music piped into the walkways, I just love every single thing about the place.
While the playground is kind of small, it’s still fun for Landon, and I love that the “baby” slides and the “big kids” slides are all on the one feature. Will save me from having to go back and forth between play sets.
And the splash pad: Yeah, that’s another big draw to the resort.
*If you couldn’t tell, I plan my hotel stays around how good the water features are for my kid. The joy of raising him in Florida where’s there’s water almost every place we go.
(Shades of Green just recently renovated their pools and now have an awesome looking kiddie pool. It’s on par with Wilderness Lodge and the Grand Floridian.)
Alex isn’t a huge fan of Art, but I equate that to him not seeing Landon’s fascination with the place while he was gone. I think if he sees how much his son loves it, he’ll come around to it a little more.
My dream would be to stay in a Lion King Suite, but realistically we’re planning on a Little Mermaid room. That might be better, anyways, because I have a feeling once I check into a family suite I’ll never move out.
Disney security will have to drag me away!
That about sums up our upcoming trip plans for the moment. Alex and I are hoping to make it to Universal in May, but that all depends on whether or not his sister and brother can tag along and help with babysitting. I’m also going to try and work in a Sea World visit, since it will most likely be free for us, because I’d love for Alex to try Manta out, but that’s only if we have the time to do it. We’ve got a lot planned and something will probably have to give before it’s all said and done.
I’m sure as the plans start coming along I’ll post more details, on either this report or my future February one. But until then, thanks for listening to the rough outline I’ve got going. A regular update will come sometime early next week.
f1
Oh I would die! 
Naturally. 
