dannyandkristi
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 11, 2007
- Messages
- 99
The Year of a Million Dreams…Actually only 999,999…because I’ve got dibs on one, and it’s coming true in 6 months!
Our First Family Trip to Disney World October 17th-20th~AKL October 20th-28th~Offsite
Okay…so I’m new to the DISboards, new to Disney, new to Pre-Trip Reports…I admit, I didn’t know what one actually was until the other day! I guess I’m what most would consider a “newbie” to all of this stuff! I’ve been inspired by some wonderful DISer’s who have so graciously shared their pre-trip/trip reports and decided that I would take the almighty plunge and attempt one myself. If all else fails, I’ll have some wonderful journaling for our family to look back upon.
I’ll begin by introducing “Our” Cast and a little bit of background…
Hi!
I’m Kristi! I’m 29 (and I’m in absolute denial that 30 is right around the corner!)…A picture of DH and I
I’ve been a Stay-at-home mom (aka Domestic Engineer) for the last 8 years until our daughter started Kindergarten this past fall. Now I Substitute Teach
at the school that my children attend, which has been a fantastic blessing! I’ve been to DW/Orlando once, when I was 18 for DECA (Marketing) National Competition, and unfortunately, I don’t recall any “magic” in that trip
. Rather, it was very busy and rushed and I wasn’t able to enjoy what Disney really had to offer at the time. The photos from that trip are sketchy at best…about a dozen from It’s a Small World, a couple nice ones of the Castle at MK, a pic of Goofy, a pic of the sign at Space Mountain, Back to the Future (Univ.). We were a bunch of Park-Hopping, crazed-teenagers, with a couple of hours to kill and an early curfew
. Sooo…. ultimately, I don’t count that trip. I’m the Designated Disney Planner for our first family vacation to the World and I love every second of it! It’s totally an Obsessive Compulsive DISorder, so buckle up and hang on tight! Or just grab some popcorn
and get comfy…I’m sure this will be loooonnnng, but FUN!My DH, Danny…He is the most wonderful hubby any woman could ask for! Facilities Manager…laid back…go with the flow kind of guy! We’ve been together since we were 14, so I guess we are Jr. High School Sweethearts!
We’ve been married for 9 years this coming September…hmmm…10th anniversary is right around the corner~ quite possibly the perfect excuse to plan the next Disney trip
!!!! He’s not a huge Disney fanatic, but he has always loved Pluto. He’s been to DW three times…once when he was 15months old (His mom says it was pretty miserable~ middle of summer and he wanted to be carried every where~ and he wasn’t a petite toddler!)…again when he was 14 (basically thought he was “too cool”
for Disney at that point) and the same DECA trip (see above) at 18. He was always a little hesitant about going to Disney World for this reason or that…too expensive, kids are too young, not enough vacation time…you name it, we’ve used it as an excuse. Finally, we’ve come to the ultimate conclusion, that I’m sure many DISer’s have realized, that timing may never be perfect, there may never be enough money, something will always come up, …but at the end of the day, the family time, the memories, the break in the daily grind will be priceless and worth every penny
.DS8, Tyler…Our Firstborn and Huge sports fan, especially Football (Go Pack!) and Nascar. He’s somewhat of a perfectionist, loves to learn (about anything at all, really) and finds all of the Disney hype displayed by the ladies (DD and myself) in our house to be rather amusing…but no matter how hard he tries
, I can tell he is just bursting at the seams with excitement!
Disneywise, He’s always loved Buzz, Woody, Sully, Mike, Cars, etc. He’s very intrigued about the whole Disney experience and is trying to figure out our odds of being chosen to stay in the castle (Did I mention, he’s really smart as well!
). I bought him Birnbaums Disney for Kids by Kids and he’s enjoying his own personal trip planning!
A pic of Tyler...
DD6, Kayla…Our Very Own Princess
! Kayla is a free spirit and has all the love in the world to give. She loves the Princesses, especially Cinderella and is totally excited about our Disney World trip…definitely a girl after her mama’s heart 
as she asks me almost daily “What new plans are you making for our trip?” While her big brother is figuring out our chances of being chosen to stay in the castle, Kayla is just very optimistic and hopeful that we will be chosen. Gotta love it- The magic of Disney at work!Here's Kayla:
For part of our vacation, my Wonderful In-laws will be joining us as well. I think they are about as excited as us to see the magic through the eyes of our kiddos! They have been to DW twice (see above) My DM-in-law was teasing me about my Disney obsession, specifically about ADR’s…and she said “Are you telling me that if I walk into a restaurant for bfast/lunch/dinner on DW property without an ADR that they will tell me that they can’t seat us?” I said “exactly, or we may have to wait two hours” I think maybe things have changed quite a bit over the last 15 years!
Anyways…we had been talking about taking a Disney trip for about a year, and nothing really ever came of it, other than a conversation piece over dinner. But back in Feb., the wheels started turning and I (like many others) figured that what better way to be able to splurge on a DW trip, other than with a Tax Refund! SO, I proposed the idea to my DH and he was game (had he known then that I was about to become a Disney Planning Nut, he may have opted not to take this trip!) I knew I had to get things rolling before it all became a passing thought
. I ran out and bought the Unofficial Guide and Passporter, read them cover to cover, and started to get super excited! I found great airfares, around $780 for four of us, direct flights! We booked, bought and were on our way, right? According to my DH, that was all we had to do for this trip…the rest we could figure out when we get to Orlando!!! 
I put my 20lbs worth of books down in front of him and said, as sweetly as I could…Honey, you just don’t understand, read these and you’ll know what I mean. Well, naturally, he was never going to read the UG and the Passporter (however, I have caught him thumbing through them every once in a while!) so the task was mine! People talk about doing the Disney parks commando style, well I was planning our vacation commando style
! Last month, I was able to book us a package through AAA, including our stay at AKL (DD is soooo excited, she is the biggest animal lover!), 6 day MYW base tickets and DDP and we saved about $400.00 off of the rates had we purchased each item separately! 
Soooo…that pretty much brings us up to date. I joined TGM yesterday, and I’ve already joined the online UG. I do have a couple of itineraries (yes, I do have multiples at this point), and I’ll post our itinerary for ADR’s/Parks later on today. Happy Reading!
Stay tuned…182 days to go and counting…ADR’s on Friday (nerve racking!)…Let the real fun begin!
! The CM was very kind and helpful
not to mention patient, as I went on and on about my excitement
Ahhh
hell be more appreciative when he actually has a place to eat and take a break instead of waiting for a table for hours! 
May just catch a 
?
/Cocoa Beach
More time at Disney for less money~what a treat! 
I'm sure all of the hotels are fantastic, but our DD6 is a huge animal lover...so, hopefully and prayerfully, everything will stay as planned
, but it's always great fun
to experience Disney through your kids!
Thanks again for all of your tips!
