NEVER AGAIN! A holiday family vacation report...

[michellem1118]

to my latest attempt at a trip report!

I've tried this several times in the past, and I always seem to be struck by post-Disney depression and begin avoiding the DIS... which leads me to never get my TRs finished.

But this time, I have another trip on the horizon, soon enough that it should prevent PDD from taking hold, so I'm hoping against hope that I'll get this TR finished before we go!

I'm sure you're wondering about my title.... well, you'll have to keep wondering for a bit. If I told you now, you'd stop reading, right?!?! Suffice it to say, traveling with a large group of family members was probably not the best idea I've ever had. You'll understand as I go along, I hope.

Anyway, let me quit babbling and give you the pertinent information.
Dates: 12/27/09 - 1/1/10
Resort: Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, henceforth referred to as SSR
Dining Plan: none
ADRs: (3) - The Turf Club @ SSR (12/27); Boma @ AKL (12/29); and Whispering Canyon Cafe @ WL (12/31) --> all for dinner

The cast:
Me (Michelle) - I'm a 31-year-old Disney lover and high school social studies teacher. This was, I think, my 8th trip to WDW, unless I've lost count (which is a distinct possibility! )

DH (John) - a slightly younger than me Disney lover and high school math teacher. We're blessed to be able to work in the same school, which cuts down on commuting expenses, etc. This was also his 8th trip to WDW, and our 6th trip together.

My mom (Mary) - Mom hadn't been to WDW since 1972, about 6 months after it opened, so she was REALLY looking forward to seeing all the changes since the last trip. She is also recovering from a knee replacement, so we rented her an ECV from an off-site company for the week (more on that later). Mom is a high school special education teacher.

My dad (Jim) - also hadn't been to WDW since 1972, and also looking forward to seeing the changes. Dad has several health problems, and probably should have rented an ECV as well... but he's stubborn and doesn't listen to reason. Dad is a retired high school special education teacher.

John's mom/my MIL (Madeline) - hadn't been to Disney since 1997, right before AK opened to the public.

John's brother/my BIL (Matt - 24) - hadn't been to Disney since 1997, and probably would have preferred a trip to US/IOA for the thrill rides. HUGE football fan, and the outcome of the games on our first day impacted his mood all week.

Our two photopass pics for the week, so you can see our whole group:

Madeline, John, me, Dad

Mom, John, me, Madeline, Matt

Thanks for joining in, and I hope you enjoy our trip (more than I did).

 

[michellem1118]

LINKS:

Ch. 0 - More Background Info!
Ch. 1 - Travel Time!
Ch. 2 - We're Here!
Ch. 3.1 - Our First Full Day! (morning)
Ch. 3.2 - Our First Full Day! (afternoon)
Ch. 3.3 - Our First Full Day! (evening)
Ch. 4.1 - Tuesday, Dec. 29 (morning)
Ch. 4.2 - Tuesday, Dec. 29 (afternoon/evening)
Ch. 5.1 - Wednesday, Dec. 30 (morning)
Ch. 5.2 - Wednesday, Dec. 30 (afternoon/evening)
Ch. 6.1 - Thursday, Dec. 31 (morning/early afternoon)
Ch. 6.2 - Thursday, Dec. 31 (evening)
Departure Day
Arrival Home & Final Thoughts

 

[luckylady]

I'm in. I learned the hard way never to go with family or friends.

 

[wsushocker]

subbing​

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Subbing in! Can't wait to read all about your Christmas trip!

 

[michellem1118]

I'm in. I learned the hard way never to go with family or friends.

I did too, unfortunately. At least with family. DH is still convinced we can travel with friends... I'm not in any hurry to try, though!

subbing​

Glad to have you.

Subbing in! Can't wait to read all about your Christmas trip!

And glad to have you, too.

(wow, this might be the most readers I've ever managed to get on a TR, and it's only day 1... this might be a good sign of things to come! )

 

[wigdoutdismom]

When is your next trip?

 

[michellem1118]

When is your next trip?

Spring Break --> 3/13-3/18... first 3 nights at SSR, last 2 at BCV, with the first 3 wait-listed at BCV. I can't wait - I'm hoping it will help bring the "happy" back to my happy place.

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Spring Break --> 3/13-3/18... first 3 nights at SSR, last 2 at BCV, with the first 3 wait-listed at BCV. I can't wait - I'm hoping it will help bring the "happy" back to my happy place.

Great! Can you say DIS meet? We'll be just across the lake! 3/14-3/19 Boardwalk Villas

 

[disneylovin24]

 

[mistydoodles]

I'm in.

We have had five trips total. Each trip my mother has been included and she isn't bad but two of the trips we included other family members and they were horrible.

Never again!!!

 

[Shir Kahn]

I've tried this several times in the past, and I always seem to be struck by post-Disney depression and begin avoiding the DIS... which leads me to never get my TRs finished.

Wow do I ever relate to this! I've just restarted my TR that I tried to do in August when we got home from our last trip! Good luck to us both on completing them!

 

[michellem1118]

Great! Can you say DIS meet? We'll be just across the lake! 3/14-3/19 Boardwalk Villas

Sounds good to me! We'll have to see where our plans match up... I'm following along on Shocker's PTR, so when he gets to park plans...

Travel day part 1 is coming up soon!

I'm in.

We have had five trips total. Each trip my mother has been included and she isn't bad but two of the trips we included other family members and they were horrible.

Never again!!!

Yeah, my parents weren't really the problem either... LOL

Wow do I ever relate to this! I've just restarted my TR that I tried to do in August when we got home from our last trip! Good luck to us both on completing them!

I'll go look for your restarted TR now and subscribe!

 

[michellem1118]

OK, before I start with the travel day, I should give you some other important information!

We booked our airfare about 6 months out, when I found flights out of Dallas for ~$250pp. My parents booked theirs right away, but I'd left my credit card at home, so we decided to wait and book ours later that day. When we booked, the same flights were almost $75 higher per ticket. That'll teach me to put off buying airfare! DH & I live in the town I grew up in, 40 miles outside of Dallas, and 2 miles or so from my parents. MIL and BIL live in the Bronx, which is where DH grew up.

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:20am, and to land at 9:40am. MIL & BIL were not as lucky with their flight times - they took off from NYC at 9:30am, and weren't scheduled to land in Orlando until after 2:00, with a layover in Newport News, VA. This is pretty important to the flow of our travel day/first day in Disney.

Up next: What kinds of problems do we encounter in our travels to WDW???

 

[wigdoutdismom]

I plan on walking over to Beach Club for yogurt parfaits in the morning, maybe we could meet up for that!

 

[michellem1118]

I plan on walking over to Beach Club for yogurt parfaits in the morning, maybe we could meet up for that!

That sounds like a great idea, once we get checked in over there. Parfaits sound delicious!

 

[kathie859]

I'm all ears..............

 

[michellem1118]

I'm all ears..............

 

[michellem1118]

The day before our travel day, we woke up at 4:00am, hoping this would allow us to be tired early, because travel day had an early start, and I certainly didn’t want to waste our first Disney day sleeping in the resort. Our plan paid off, and we went to bed nice and early (around 8:00pm) that night, and actually slept.

The alarm was still a rude awakening on travel day though – bright and early at 2:45am. Make that dark and early. I think we were on a plane before the sun came up. We had loaded all the luggage except the carry-on bags into the car before bed, so once we dragged ourselves out of bed, it was a short process to get ready for the day. At 3:25am, we were dressed, had the carry-ons in the car, and were headed to my parents’ house 5 minutes away. My mom called to make sure we were awake as we pulled out of our driveway, LOL. By 3:40am, we had my parents in the car with their carry-on, and we were on the highway headed to DFW airport to catch our 6:20am flight.

We had no trouble at all getting to the park’n’fly lot, in fact, we made much better time than we expected. We were parked in the lot by 4:30am, and on a shuttle to the terminal less than 5 minutes later. Not surprisingly, that early in the morning, security is basically a non-issue. DH & I got through easily (although I got patted down even though I didn’t set off the metal detector), but couldn’t find my parents. We went to the gate, thinking perhaps they headed in that direction, but they weren’t there. DH grabbed us some seats and sat with the carry-on, while I headed back to security to see if my parents were there.

As it turns out, my mom had set off the metal detector, AND didn’t have her liquids in the quart-size bag. So she had special screening, and then had to wait as TSA re-scanned her bag with the liquids in a clear plastic bag. After the 10 minute delay, we headed to McDonalds to get some breakfast, and then made our way back to the gate where DH was waiting patiently for us.

Based on my tweets, it looks like we boarded on time. It took quite a while to get off the ground though – first there was a mechanical delay, then we had to taxi out for de-icing. We took off almost an hour late, but we still landed at MCO early (scheduled landing – 9:40am, actual landing – 9:04am). We headed to the ME counter, and walked right on to a bus. The bus pulled out almost as soon as we got on – twitter tells me we were headed to SSR by 9:27am, and we passed through the gates to WDW property at 9:57am, so we were making great time!

(sorry for the fuzziness, the pic was taken with my phone as we zoomed by!)

OKW was the first stop on our ME bus, and nearly half the bus got off, so it was a long delay. Luckily, SSR was the second stop, and we were the only party getting off there. We headed inside to the longest check-in line I’ve ever seen on Disney property, and I immediately regretted that I hadn’t done online check-in for us, since that line was much shorter and was moving much faster. The line moved faster than I expected though, and shortly, it was our turn to check in!

Up Next: Were our rooms ready? When would MIL & BIL arrive? And would our first day go anything like I had planned???

 

[Pixie Princess]

You're title has me seriously considering not prodding the family about the summer Disney trip we were all to take. I'm in to learn more....