Our first time

[firstfamilytrip]

Let me begin by giving some background. We went to Disney for the first time in March. Me(31), my DH(32), DS1(8) , DS2(6) and DD(1) . This is a tale of our journey from start to finish. I thought other first timers might enjoy. I will warn you--someone who has been many times may be offended by some of my observations, but they are what they are. An account of our first trip to the World.

My story actually begins a long time ago. I grew up waiting for my sister to be old enough to "remember" Disney so we could go. By the time she was there was another baby on the way and even another one after that. My brother started Kindergarten the year I went away to college. So there was no trip to Disney World for us.

A few years ago Disney ran a promotion where the kids were free if you put the trip on your Visa card. We looked into it and were very tempted, but we felt our youngest was too young. He would be just over 3. We ordered the DVD and signed up for email and everything. I don't know if they even did the child swap thing then, but all I could think was our whole trip would be my DH on a ride with DS1 and me waiting with DS2. So we decided against the trip. Makes me cringe when I think of it because it was a great deal.

Then in 2005 we added DD to the family.

Fast forward to 2006. We were two days away from taking a vacation in July of 2006 to visit family in OH for a couple of days and then go to Chicago for 5 days. We were excited as it would be our first big trip as a family. We usually just did day trips to the zoo or went to OH to visit family. My husband got a call while we were out shopping for last minute trip items that he was being transferred from MO to TN effective immediately. We were stunned.

The company was so kind to allow my husband to keep his vacation he had scheduled (Gee thanks) but he would have to cut it short by two days to be in TN to start work. Our family vacation was off. We needed to prepare the house to sell and get things ready for my husband to move 11 hours away.

It was a hard 4 months and the housing market in our small MO town had hit rock bottom. We were so happy in November when my husband's company finally bought our home from us and we could be together as a family again. Because of the high cost of rent in TN and the double living expenses we could only afford for DH to come back to visit us one time during the 4 months. It was so nice to be together again.

The new school had a Spring Break that was a week long and that was something we had never had before. We started throwing the idea of going to Disney World around again. It had been such a tough year and with the Year of Million Dreams going on it seemed like a magical place was just what our family needed. We knew our DD was young at only a year old but we feared if we didn't get the boys there soon we would miss our chance with them. They are already immersed in a world of Spiderman and Superman. Would they accept Mickey Mouse?

You've got to understand that to my kids Disney is more Zach and Cody than Mickey and Pluto. I mean they knew who those characters were, but they just didn't get excited about them. Should we spend all this money, would they enjoy themselves? Was it worth it?

We began our quest to find out the answers to these questions and see if Disney would be our Spring Break. That is how I found the Dis boards in the first place.
Next up... March is Peak Season...Really?

 

[OhMari]

Hi, I see you joined last Jan. but welcome to the DIS Boards. Where did you move in TN?

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Can't wait to hear more - the 1st trip is always so magical!

 

[firstfamilytrip]

So we had made the decision to look into going. Which really meant I needed to look into going. I didn't know where to start.

My MIL and her husband took my nephews and his D, SIL, and two grandkids a couple of years ago. Maybe she would have some insight. So I call. Evidently it was the worst experience of her life. The other adults were constantly leaving her with the kids so they could go ride things the kids were too small for. They went in July. It was hot. It was crowded. Not a ringing endorsement.

My mom was a chaperone for my sisters cheer squad when they went to FL for the Orange Bowl. So I call her. She had a migraine that day and if she remembers correctly they had just enough time to ride Space Mountain before they had to turn around and leave. It wasn't Disney's fault but no she didn't like it either.

I was beginning to give up. Then my mom said,"your sister's friend's mom has been going her whole life. They just went last year again. Would you like her number?" I don't know. It seemed weird. I don't really know my sister's friend let alone her mother. My mom assured me she was nice and loved to talk about Disney. It seemed to be the only way to get some first hand knowledge of Disney. So I went for it.

I called sister's friends mom. She was so nice. She answered all my questions. Do we want to stay onsite? YES!!! Are there things for kids that are 6,8,and 1 to do? Yes. Is it like Cedar Point where there is a small Carnival area for kids and most of the park is geared at older people? No. Do we want Park Hoppers? Yes. What about the dining plan? They've never done it, don't know. She told me about wdwig.com and she had heard of the Disboards but hadn't been on it. That was the key that turned our "looking into it" into a "we're going". It's all your fault.

There was so much information on here. I posted a few questions but I could really get the info I needed by just reading. It was here that I first found out that March was peak season at Disney. I was naive or stupid I guess. I thought the summer would be peak season. I also didn't know that people reserved and paid on these vacations so far in advance. I just thought you paid for the vacation when you booked it. Our only trips had been to the zoo remember?

There were so many resorts. How were we ever going to choose? We knew our dream vacation would be the Polynesian. We had decided that a few years ago when "the deal" was going on. We couldn't afford our dream vacation, though.

I think I've decided Pop is for us. The price is better and it's our first time anyway. We won't be in the room that much. Then my husband reminds me there will be a pack-n-play in the room for our DD . Will the room seem cramped? He's not going to be a park commando so plan some down time. That wiped out Pop. If my Dh is not having a good time then we won't be either.

Then my DH said something that shocked me. He wanted the Wilderness Lodge or Animal Kingdom. That was as deluxe as we could go. We looked at prices and decided Savannah View was what we want at AKL but that was still out of our price range. WL it was. I found the thread on the resort boards and learned everything there was to know. Have you ever seen that thread? I read the entire thing.

My next step was calling CRO. I thought I would be responsible when I called and at least price a budget, a mod and the WL. Just to make sure I had the right prices. I was pleasantly shocked when I was told I had a code attached to my name. Do you remember all the code and pin talk? That's right, I was calling during that debacle. Oh wait, it doesn't apply to me. It's not relevant to this trip I am planning she said. What does that mean? Do I need to change my dates, resort, what? Tell me, tell me. She says she can't. I tell her to go ahead and give me the prices anyway. WL was cheaper than I thought. I was so excited. I didn't want to make a decision without talking to DH so I said I would call back tomorrow.

I did the math. She quoted me a price that was 25% off the room portion. I figured whatever code was attached to my name was for 25%off a deluxe.

We decided the WL was our resort of choice. I called back the next day and the price was regular price. This is how the rest of the call went.

Me: I'm sorry but you're mistaken. I have THE CODE attached to my name. I was just quoted xxx for the WL last night.

CRO guy: I don't know what you're talking about. This is the price for the WL for your dates.

Me: How could the price have gone up in one day. Doesn't the computer say that I called last night. Do you think I would make up this number?

CRO guy: Unless you reserve the reservation I can't see what you were quoted, but the price I told you today is how much it is.

Me: Thank you I'll have to discuss this with my husband.

Then I thought I would call CRO back and get the good price again. No luck. I now know it was probably one of those secretive upsell rates, but at the time I was Disney stupid and didn't know about them.

It all worked out in the end anyway. The next day I found out on the Disboards that the pool was being refurbished and wouldn't be done by our trip. If Disney thinks I'm paying Peak prices while the pool with the slide is out of order they are mistaken. I mean they even put that in the chart when comparing the different resort categories. Deluxe resorts have deluxe pools. Crazy people. I was now back to square one in finding a resort. At least I could cross off the deluxe category and focus on mods and budgets.

Next up...All things Disboard

 

[firstfamilytrip]

We live in East TN.
Thanks for the welcome. I've mainly been a reader and information sponge on here since Jan.

 

[anne60]

I'm looking forward to reading more. You are lucky you discovered these boards before your first trip....when I think about the money and time I would have saved ......... !

 

[firstfamilytrip]

I am lucky I got so much information here. One piece I could have done without was there was a public code for my time of the trip that had been offered about six months prior to me finding this website. That's always my luck..day late and a dollar short.

 

[lynn71092]

Welcome to the Disboards!!
Thank God you did research before you went there.
I'm looking forward to your report

 

[firstfamilytrip]

So we were back to deciding on a resort. I just didn't know which one to pick. The planning DVD finally got here and we watched it. The boys decided that CSR looked fun. I started on the research and it looked good. I was unsure until I found Buzz's thread with links to photos on the resort page. He was so helpful.

I called CRO and our vacation was set. Arriving March 16 leaving the 22nd at CSR. 5 day regular tickets with dining plan. We were so excited.

Then the Disboards help me prepare for the trip. It was here I found out about ADRs, Baggallinis, Macleran strollers and the diver at Coral Reef.

I started my ADR planning based on which park we would be at for each day. My DH was no help saying he didn't know what type of food he would be hungry for 2 months from now. I read the reviews but I think the restaurants are different for each customer. Everyone's taste is different and servers certainly are. I just picked things I thought my family would like.

I got name tags made for the kids and ordered the customized park maps from Disney. This helped to get the boys into the trip. They thought Mickey Mouse personally picked things out that he thought they would like to do. Plus they have your family name on them. They are free on the website and they do make a great pretrip gift.

I got the kids some dollar spot Disney things at Target as gifts from Tink. Something else I learned about here.

I got the diver lined up for our dinner at Coral Reef to celebrate DS6's birthday. It would actually be four days prior, but we thought we would celebrate there since he has always LOVED aquariums.

The boys birthdays are in Feb. and March so they got Disney GCs for their birthdays along with some matching shirts so it was easy to know which kids were mine. We told them the gift cards were for their souveniers on the trip. They were in charge of them and when the money was gone it was gone. I patted myself on the back for this idea. No fighting and whining that they have to have something. I should have known it would come back to bite me in the end.

Ponchos check.
Travel papers check.

We were ready to begin packing. DH kept asking if I had enough diapers and wipes for DD I assured him I did. Two packages of each and that would last her a month at home. Everything was in the car and ready to go. I put out the gifts for the kids. The boys got notepads and a pen from Peter Pan and DD got a book from Tinkerbell.

It was almost time.
Next Up...Mapquest is a big fat liar