ksl5f123
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2009
- Messages
- 1,299
Hello and Welcome! I am so happy to be back on the trip report boards after about a 3 month hiatus.
Let's start with the important stuff. Who is going on this trip?
ME!! I'm Karen (36). I love the atmosphere of Disney and the joy in my children's eyes when we are there. I typically describe my riding strategy as "only things that move slower than I can walk". This will be my 12th trip to WDW. I am the planner in the family and love to have a minute-by-minute plan (yes, I know it won't really happen, but a girl can hope, right?)
DH (38) enjoys Disney very much. He will ride anything except for the tea cups. He is from Florida and can't remember how many times he has been to Disney.
DD7 started riding thrill rides for the first time on our June 2010 trip. She loved BTMRR and Splash Mountain. She loves all things pink and Sleeping Beauty, but I fear that her princess days are rapidly coming to an end. At home, she plays soccer, does gymnastics, sings in the choir, and plays chess. She is always on the go!
DD4 loves purple and Snow White. She is completely uninterested in thrill rides despite being tall enough. Her favorite rides on our trip in June were Soarin' and Spaceship Earth.
DS2 loves Cars. He is the stereotypical little brother who gets into stuff and makes lots of messes. His favorite rides in June were Winnie the Pooh and Aladdin's carpets.
MIL used to be our Disney planner. Our June trip was the first one I ever planned and it was pretty different than her style. However, I must not have done too bad as they agreed to go with us again! In June, she did all of our running for fastpasses and did such an amazing job we often had more than we could use.
FIL is really laid back. He will always volunteer to stay with DS2 if we ride something he isn't tall enough for or if he falls asleep in the stroller. He is great to have along. Apparently, I didn't take any good pictures of him in June. I will look for one later.
Up next, the where and the when!
Let's start with the important stuff. Who is going on this trip?
ME!! I'm Karen (36). I love the atmosphere of Disney and the joy in my children's eyes when we are there. I typically describe my riding strategy as "only things that move slower than I can walk". This will be my 12th trip to WDW. I am the planner in the family and love to have a minute-by-minute plan (yes, I know it won't really happen, but a girl can hope, right?)
DH (38) enjoys Disney very much. He will ride anything except for the tea cups. He is from Florida and can't remember how many times he has been to Disney.
DD7 started riding thrill rides for the first time on our June 2010 trip. She loved BTMRR and Splash Mountain. She loves all things pink and Sleeping Beauty, but I fear that her princess days are rapidly coming to an end. At home, she plays soccer, does gymnastics, sings in the choir, and plays chess. She is always on the go!
DD4 loves purple and Snow White. She is completely uninterested in thrill rides despite being tall enough. Her favorite rides on our trip in June were Soarin' and Spaceship Earth.
DS2 loves Cars. He is the stereotypical little brother who gets into stuff and makes lots of messes. His favorite rides in June were Winnie the Pooh and Aladdin's carpets.
MIL used to be our Disney planner. Our June trip was the first one I ever planned and it was pretty different than her style. However, I must not have done too bad as they agreed to go with us again! In June, she did all of our running for fastpasses and did such an amazing job we often had more than we could use.
FIL is really laid back. He will always volunteer to stay with DS2 if we ride something he isn't tall enough for or if he falls asleep in the stroller. He is great to have along. Apparently, I didn't take any good pictures of him in June. I will look for one later.
Up next, the where and the when!
This was the first trip that I ever got to plan for our family and I was obsessed about it. I planned everything imaginable (meals, rides, snacks, breaks, EVERYTHING!) While I was planning and repeatedly asking DH for his opinion, he thought I had gone over the deep end. 
However, once we were there, he told me several times to make a note in my planning journal so we could have a better plan “next time”. We spent a large part of our 18 hour drive home planning the next trip. What time would we want an ADR? How many days in each park? What restaurants were must-dos? We had a pretty good outline for the next before we even got home from the last one! 
We had spent $4300 on our last trip and figured that if we cut some things, we would need $3000 for our next trip. I immediately became a regular reader of the budget board and carefully saved as much as I could for the next 5 months. By early November, I was getting close! 
I can't wait! DH loves this idea because it means that we can avoid taking the bus to the MK. We found that for our family, driving to Epcot, AK, and DHS worked really well, but we used the bus for MK and really didn't care for it. Being at WL means we can take the boat. It won't be quite as convenient as a monorail resort, but it will be cheaper!
I ran inside and quickly calculated that we could afford a 3 night/4 day stay at WL! Spring break here we come!!! Our dates are March 22-25, 2011!
Hopefully, by late March they will have all the kinks worked out of the meet & greets in other places. 
and 
oopsiDAISY! Glad to have you along!
Surprising the kids is so much fun!
My lesson for the future: Swimsuits are small - bring them even if you think there is no chance of needing them! 
