My ~ 40 is Fabulous! ~ Disney Trip Report! 4/25-5/4

[novdisneydreams]

If 30 is the new 20, and 40 is the new 30, then a big huge scary "how can I possible be that old?" birthday at Disney is ... well, the only way to go!

So I had a big birthday coming up. Huge even. And I had this Disney obsession (my nine year old son calls me a Disney Freak, affectionately, of course!) I had been planning trips we never took for the past couple of years since our fabulous trip back in November of 2005. My kids were getting bigger. My biological clock was tick tockin' into overrdrive. I needed a Disney fix. And I needed it bad.

I proposed to my husband that we needed a vacation. A family vacation. A Disney vacation. And naturally it should coincide with my birthday. I was getting depressed after I'd said how getting depressed about a birthday was silly. I was getting silly thinking about how not to be depressed about my birthday. And I said to myself, self - who could be depressed at Disney? Thats where I need to be. Its all very logical. Lucky for me, my husband agreed. So I started planning.

 

[novdisneydreams]

This was going to be an extreme budget trip. It sort of had to be, and I decided that it would be way better to do my birthday trip on the cheap than to not do it all. We would stay offsite. We would pack our lunch. We would bring souvenirs from home for the kids. We would drive. We would be frugal and smart and have the time of our lives ! I knew we could do it - I knew I could plan it! We'd need the tax return and maybe some overtime and good luck and we would make it! I started to get excited.

I guess now is as good a time as any to introduce us! We are:

Me - 29, er, I mean 40. I am Disney crazed. Seriously. I just think that being there is the best thing in the world. It brings tears to my eyes. The freedom, the time with my family, the friendly people and fabulous attractions. For me, it doesn't really get any better than Disney. Someone in my family once asked me if I wouldn't like to go on vacation somewhere else sometime. Um, no. Is that a problem?

DH - 40ish. My husband is a good guy. He is big fun. He makes me laugh and he's a great sport. He wasn't quite as Disney crazed as I was - but don't worry, I fixed that on this trip. Before the trip he would listen to my endless goings on and smile a lot - but I knew that what he was most excited about was being off of work for nine days in a row.

DS9 - My older son is the greatest. No really, he's smart and sensitive and just a fabulous kid*. He's crazy for Star Wars, but not for thrill rides. I'll call him Luke, because if I have to change his name I am sure that he will appreciate my calling him after a great Jedi.

DS6 - My younger son is the greatest. No really, he has this amazing sense of humor and a fabulous enthusiasm.* He is my daredevil and was psyched about trying out some of the "big" rides. I'll call him Yoda. Because he is reading over my shoulder and just told me I have to.

So Star Wars characters aren't technically Disney, but they HAVE THE RIDE - so who's being picky?

*OK, so I'm nuts about my kids. So sue me.


-------------

Anyway, we were going to fly in on my younger son's birthday. Whats that ? You thought we were driving? Oh yes, extreme budget trip. Well, sometimes things just don't work out the way they are originally planned to, do they?

 

[wvdisluv2]

Ohhhh this sounds like fun! I celebrated the "11th Anniversary of my 29th Birthday" last year

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[Melissa2480]

Oh yeah...I'm subscribing! I guess your 40 is like my 30 and I would love to spend it at the world.

Ohhhh this sounds like fun! I celebrated the "11th Anniversary of my 29th Birthday" last year

Looking forward to reading more!

Priceless...I love it.

 

[Suzimom]

Can this be our secret "40 Club?" That's me Sept. 1st. Yikes!! I remember when my parents turned 40 -- they sure acted a lot older than I do!!!!

Looking forward to reading about your special trip!

Susan

 

[novdisneydreams]

Ooooooooh, actual readers! Yay !!!

I always wanted to write a trippie (well, ever since I discovered them ). Its more fun than I thought it would be. So here goes:

It was November-ish, and my April birthday was looming large. I was looking online for exceedingly cheap accomodations. I was checking Sky Auction, etc. Trying to find one of those $275 for the whole week dealies. I was figuring miles, adding up gas, yada,yada, yada. I had mentioned to my mom what I was planning. Super cheap, super fun. She basically said ewww. She wished she could come, but couldn't possibly handle the on the cheap requirements of the trip.

You see in November 2005 we went to Disney. My entire family went - a giant clan of us. It was my family, my sisters family, our parents, my cousin's family, my aunt and uncle - 17 of us all together. 11 adults and 6 kids. We stayed onsite at All Star Movies, rode the buses, had the Dining Plan, park hoppers, water parks - the whole shebang. It was an absolute blast !!!

But that sort of expense wasn't in my birthday cards (get it , birthday cards? Ha!Ha!) So I started to think about what was really important to me - what would make it a great Disney trip. And it was pretty simple. It was the parks, an occasional Mickey bar, my kids faces lighting up, the pure joy of it all. So while I adored all of our restaurant meals in '05, and while staying on site was fabulous, I thought we could find the magic in another way too. We'd do base tickets - frankly I thought that we'd spent way too much time hopping the last time. One park a day would be fine. And with no plus option we would definitely need a nice pool.

Well, one night my mom called me all excited. It seems that my Disney talk had infected her (did you know its contagious?) She'd spent lots of time online and had run across Windsor Hills. I'd heard of it, but thought it was expensive. But my mom was psyched. She'd looked at pics, and requested quotes and thought that if we'd split the cost we could end up with a really nice place to stay at a pretty good price.

There were still the issue of the dining plan - both my parents LOVED it. They'd stated at one time that they'd never go back without it. That they were too old for quickie breakfasts and packed lunches. That they had done all that when we were kids. But here's the thing. I remember doing that, but don't remember minding it all. I figured that I would miss the restaurants, but my boys, who are picky, would probably eat happier and healthier if I packed them food. Anyway, they are kids - way more interested in rides and shows and swimming and exploring than in food. So I reminded my mom that we'd be packing and toting and eating counter service and while she wasn't thrilled she was already infected, so she had no choice but to go along with me

We spent a few nights poring over condos and townhomes and finally settled on one. It was pretty inexpensive, not the fanciest, but the reviews were good, it looked clean and it had it's own little pool out back. We split with my parents 50/50 and our half was only about $515 for nine nights. You really can't beat that, but I was a teensy bit worried that it wouldn't turn out to be nice. So we had a place to stay --- we were really going. So on with the planning.

 

[momjkm]

[" celebrated the "11th Anniversary of my 29th Birthday" last year


I am going with ds this summer for my 39th- ds wants to make me a t shirt that says it really is her 39th--- I am so darn excited about disney and my birthday!
dh and my 14 yr dd are happy they aren't going to witness my excitement--- ds (11) is right there with me!
Jill

 

[Melissa2480]

We stood in a townhome at Windsor Hills last year for a wk while we did USO

I can't wait to hear what you thought of it!!

 

[stagemomx3]

Sounds good, I'm in!

 

[OhMari]

I know life is busy, but did you get to WDW?