Okay gosh... I just realized three weeks from today we will be in the air (hopefully) on our way to WDW! I'm SOOO not ready for this! I've been meaning to do a pre-trip report - as I've never done one before -- never planned a trip far enough out to do one and well, here we are running behind as usual! But I'll try anyway. If you like to read about what it's like to take four spirited kids (close in age) to WDW and all the mishaps and misadventures that comes with it - then you'll probably like this... If, on the other hand, you are like the woman we encountered at DL last year who powerwalked through Disneyland complaining that she "hates kids" you will probably want to look elsewhere for your reading entertainment.
Here's our cast of characters:
ME - Minmate, mother of 4. Our family's original Disney Lover. Charged with "spreading the love" and doing a pretty fine job of it. Numerous trips to DL and a few to WDW as a kid. On our way to our 5th WDW trip with the 4 kidlets. Occupation (besides mom... journalist, school volunteer and running around like a chicken w/my head cut off).
DH -- father of 4. First trip to DL as an adult w/ME. Married me 10.5 years ago at DL - just before WDW Dream Weddings got off the ground! Good enough sport to "claim" he's looking forward to our trip - though I often refer to him as so laid-back if he was any more laid back you'd have to check him for a pulse. (Does not seem to possess all the muscles in the face that are used to express emotion or the vast vocabulary to do the same - but did I mention he's a good sport and also blessedly lacks the complaining gene that my kids and I sometimes have!) The calm, level-headed one of the bunch... usually.
DD9 -- DRAMA QUEEN. DQ is an actress-in-training. When she grows up she wants to go to UCLA and to be an actress or bust. Yes, what 9 yr old has already planned out that much of their life already? I have no idea.... Lately, the world as she sees it is biding her time as the oldest of three other wretched siblings that were all born simply to torment and ruin her life. Sometimes she actually likes them. But only in btw the times she's worrying about how life's not fair to her and how impossibly horrid her living conditions are... Did I mention she's 9 going on 13 (hormonally at least?) But guess what, we still love her and she's incredibly intelligent, wonderful and has some truly good intentions.
DD8 -- ART CHICK. AC is my dd who does not like the spotlight. She has come a long way since her first trips to WDW where she freaked about everything from the way her shoes felt to the water that sprayed out at Philharmagic. She LOVES Disney. She's deeply, deeply sensitive, observant and highly emotional. She can be incredibly good but is prone to some major meltdown fireworks that are very difficult to tame. She's totally in art and has talked about wanting to be an animator.
DS7 -- TAZ. My only DS is an athlete extraordinaire. Whether its karate, basketball, baseball, football or swimming he's out to compete and out to excel. He's not necessarily always the best on the team but he is up there and he's got the "eye of the tiger" in his sights. His boundless energy is why I dub him TAZ here. The whirling dervish that is my ds is hard to keep up with... he is singlulary focused once his mind is set on something... which is good for achieving goals but not so good for achieving compromise on a family vacation. If he wants to go to the pool - he will be sure everyone knows it and will continue to grow increasingly agitated until he gets his way.
DD6 -- FASHION PRINCESS. My youngest is such a typical girly girl and such a typical baby of the family. She is totally into being a girl as much as my ds is into being a boy's boy. More than one person has told me dd certainly has her own "style." She was prancing around with skinny belts wrapped around her mid-section with leggins under her skirts long before that very same fashion hit the Limited Too Catalog pages. Perhaps she is a trendsetter?She can mix and match her clothes in ways I never ever considered and though some are eye-raising, they are always thoughtful. I know not but whenever I question her fashion choices she says with a bubbly smile, "But this makes me feel happy!!!!" Hannah Montana lover too....
So that's the gang... Here's the trip details:
We depart from Minnesota in three weeks with a planned 9 days in WDW. We'll be staying in two rooms at All-Star Music. Originally had a family suite but when we changed to free dining we lost the suite. Have stayed at POP but never at an AS. Hoping to like it. Loved POP and never thought it was overcrowded or probs with bus service (except for the bus stops always being so far away at the parks!)
Some planned first for our trips will include:
Visiting DisneyQuest
Visiting Typhoon Lagoon (still nervous about the wave pool)
MNSHHP
... and visiting during hurricane season!
Welcome aboard....
Here's our cast of characters:
ME - Minmate, mother of 4. Our family's original Disney Lover. Charged with "spreading the love" and doing a pretty fine job of it. Numerous trips to DL and a few to WDW as a kid. On our way to our 5th WDW trip with the 4 kidlets. Occupation (besides mom... journalist, school volunteer and running around like a chicken w/my head cut off).
DH -- father of 4. First trip to DL as an adult w/ME. Married me 10.5 years ago at DL - just before WDW Dream Weddings got off the ground! Good enough sport to "claim" he's looking forward to our trip - though I often refer to him as so laid-back if he was any more laid back you'd have to check him for a pulse. (Does not seem to possess all the muscles in the face that are used to express emotion or the vast vocabulary to do the same - but did I mention he's a good sport and also blessedly lacks the complaining gene that my kids and I sometimes have!) The calm, level-headed one of the bunch... usually.
DD9 -- DRAMA QUEEN. DQ is an actress-in-training. When she grows up she wants to go to UCLA and to be an actress or bust. Yes, what 9 yr old has already planned out that much of their life already? I have no idea.... Lately, the world as she sees it is biding her time as the oldest of three other wretched siblings that were all born simply to torment and ruin her life. Sometimes she actually likes them. But only in btw the times she's worrying about how life's not fair to her and how impossibly horrid her living conditions are... Did I mention she's 9 going on 13 (hormonally at least?) But guess what, we still love her and she's incredibly intelligent, wonderful and has some truly good intentions.
DD8 -- ART CHICK. AC is my dd who does not like the spotlight. She has come a long way since her first trips to WDW where she freaked about everything from the way her shoes felt to the water that sprayed out at Philharmagic. She LOVES Disney. She's deeply, deeply sensitive, observant and highly emotional. She can be incredibly good but is prone to some major meltdown fireworks that are very difficult to tame. She's totally in art and has talked about wanting to be an animator.
DS7 -- TAZ. My only DS is an athlete extraordinaire. Whether its karate, basketball, baseball, football or swimming he's out to compete and out to excel. He's not necessarily always the best on the team but he is up there and he's got the "eye of the tiger" in his sights. His boundless energy is why I dub him TAZ here. The whirling dervish that is my ds is hard to keep up with... he is singlulary focused once his mind is set on something... which is good for achieving goals but not so good for achieving compromise on a family vacation. If he wants to go to the pool - he will be sure everyone knows it and will continue to grow increasingly agitated until he gets his way.
DD6 -- FASHION PRINCESS. My youngest is such a typical girly girl and such a typical baby of the family. She is totally into being a girl as much as my ds is into being a boy's boy. More than one person has told me dd certainly has her own "style." She was prancing around with skinny belts wrapped around her mid-section with leggins under her skirts long before that very same fashion hit the Limited Too Catalog pages. Perhaps she is a trendsetter?She can mix and match her clothes in ways I never ever considered and though some are eye-raising, they are always thoughtful. I know not but whenever I question her fashion choices she says with a bubbly smile, "But this makes me feel happy!!!!" Hannah Montana lover too....
So that's the gang... Here's the trip details:
We depart from Minnesota in three weeks with a planned 9 days in WDW. We'll be staying in two rooms at All-Star Music. Originally had a family suite but when we changed to free dining we lost the suite. Have stayed at POP but never at an AS. Hoping to like it. Loved POP and never thought it was overcrowded or probs with bus service (except for the bus stops always being so far away at the parks!)
Some planned first for our trips will include:
Visiting DisneyQuest
Visiting Typhoon Lagoon (still nervous about the wave pool)
MNSHHP
... and visiting during hurricane season!
Welcome aboard....
