My first ever pre trip plan and eventual trip report!Operation Pickle is a go Eeeekkk

[Sookie889]

Hi everybody!

I'm a veteran lurker on the DIS and have finally decided to take the plunge and venture into writing a pre trip plan and eventually a trip report.....Ay ay ay, I'm nervous! I've read so many amazing adventures from you lot that I hope I can come up to standard

Aaaaaaanyhoooooo, here goes, where to begin....Well let's do a few introductions....I'll spare you the mugshots for the time being and just give you a quick whose who of the clan!

Firstly there's me, Claire, 30, I'm the resident Disney planner....If you need a reservation making or a holiday planning involving 5ft mice and ducks and copious amounts of food then I'm your gal! ~This will be my 8th trip to the world(yes yes, I know, 7 trips and no trip report.....I'm ashamed!) I have always been a Disney nut, I buy all my friends kids Disney toys for birthdays, Disney baubles for Xmas, heck I even organise a party/games night before every trip were we play Disney Trivial Pursuit! I'm a Tigger fan through and through!

Next up we have Dbf Stu, 30, now Stuey is pretty much a Disneyworld novice, he went once a few years back for a week and can't even remember which parks he went to!?! Needless to say this holiday will show him what Disney is all about and give him a real taste of the fabulousness! He has a MAJOR crush on Minnie(ssshhhhhh, if he asks I didn't tell you that)

Then we have Pops aka Dad aka Grumpy, now pops has just turned 60 this year and for his 50th he went to Disney for a week(without all of us may I add) so it seemed pretty fitting for him to celebrate his 60th in the happiest place on earth even if he does have his Grumpy old man moments....Best way to describe pops physically? Mr Fredrickson from Up! You give this guy a walking stick and there is no telling them apart! Now Pops is a big lover and when I say big I mean BIIIIIIIG lover of the Food and Wine Festival(hence the majority of our trips being in October) He tops up his card bracelet and he's off! It's one of the highlights of his holiday! Favourite character? Grumpy surprise surprise!

Up next Nana Catherine aka Ma, now her birthday will be right before we go to Disney so I'm plotting to make this holiday extra special for her. My ma is reknowned in our family for her appetite....She is a 5'3" walking talking eating machine....I mean this lady needs to eat every 3 hours, yes every 3 hours, or she starts to feel poorly! What a woman....Not an ounce of fat on her....Some people get all the luck!!! My ma's favourite character is Malificent, she ADORES the villains! And I dont blame her, they are one heck of an entertaining bunch!

Let's see, whose next....There are 10 of us in total this year! Wowsers! (whose the pirate? I will let you decide)

Up next is Matt! My brother! 35, Me and Matt are chalk and cheese but it works....I need to get things done yesterday, Matt is so laidback he's horizontal! We have our moments but don't all siblings??? Matt is a big Disney fan! He also likes his photo taking....I may ask him to be in charge of piccies for on here when we go away! His favourite character is Jack Skellington! This will also be Matt's 8th visit! We are Disney addicts in this family!

Then we have Leesy, my sis in law, 36. God I love this woman! She is just as nutty about Disney as I am! She loves every aspect of it! I think this will be her 9th visit to the world...Can you see a pattern? lol Her favourite character is easily Pooh bear It's also Matt n Leesy's wedding anniversary while we are in WDW so hopefully we can make it a memorable one for them!

Next up Granda Bill, Leesy's pa! This gent is up for anything to do with Florida! He loves the place! He has left the planning up to us and just said "count me in"

Then we have Nana Ali, Leesy's ma, again, we couldn't have picked a more suitable pairing of families if we tried when it comes to Disney lovers! Up for anything and willing to visit new places.

Then we come to THE BOYS!

First up Tom! 10, my nephew! Stitch lover through and through abit cautious when it comes to rides but after he susses it out and has a good watch then he is fine! I'm hoping this is the year we can really instill some thrill ride enjoyment into him, on our last trip in 2010 we were getting to the point of letting go and arms up on the littler rides Thunder mountain, Barnstormer, hippogriff at Harry Potter world etc so this could be the year he comes into his own! Total joker, very goofy and good at pulling faces at just the right time to make ya giggle!

And last, but certainly by no means least!!

Joseph! 7, nephew! Poor kid inherited his aunty's quirks! what a character, I dunno where we got him from but boy am I glad we did! The things he comes out with floor me, example, Me, Stuey and the boys went out for a walk one Saturday a coule of weekends ago...Now I am a major clutz, I fall over just standing up straight sometimes(I don't know why, I think my legs just get lazy!) well we were walking down a hill this weekend and I managed to fall down a hole and twist my ankle (it's ok now, more my ego bruised in front of all the boys than anything else) now from Stuey and Thomas I get a "Ha ha" (think Nelson from the Simpsons) then Thomas asks me if I'm alright etc.....Joe comes over and says, I quote, "ya know aunty Claire, if that was me n I had fell down that hole I wouldn't have even noticed *** I am a born survivor....you're obviously just not a born survivor like me" and then proceeded to skip off whistling the theme tune to The A-Team!?!?!? What a kid!

Now the boys don't actually know about this holiday yet The only reason I pull this face is *** I cannot contain Disney holiday excitement easily....I've had to rename the holiday Operation Pickle!

Ok, well that will do for now, I shall return tomorrow to give you all a rundown on how this unexpected trip came about! Hope you all stop by and see me!