mrorke
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2013
- Messages
- 28
Hi Everyone,
This is our family's first trip to Disney World. My DH and I have both been once before (he during his childhood and my first (and only) time when I was in my early 30s) but this is our son's first trip and our first Disney vacation as a family.
Who's who in the Rorke family (from NY)
I'm Michelle, early 40's, librarian by trade, mom to a wonderful boy, a wife to a fantastic man.
DH is Matt, early 40's, cable-splicer by trade, avid model railroader and all-around nice guy.
DS is K (name left out for security reasons), is a 8-year-old Lego loving, , Nintendo DS addicted, baseball pitching phenom.
About K -
K is the only kid in the world who never wanted to go to Disney. I've been trying to get him to go on a Disney vacation for the last 4 years. Every time I asked him if he wanted to go see Mickey the answer was always NO! I could never figure out what is was until recently I think I figured it out.
Fireworks!
Every commercial we have see about Disney always featured fireworks and K is terrified of them. As soon as he would here the boom of a firework he would immediately head for his bed and hide he head under his pillow.
This year we did make some progress and he now likes the lights and colors of fireworks but not the sound. Watching a documentary on how fireworks were made really helped but the sound part is still scary for him.
But what really helped was when K learned there was a Lego store in DTD. Boy, he was on board with taking a trip down to the park now. Hey, whatever it takes...at least we are going!
Oh, by the way, did I mention that we are going in September....September 2013! Yes, little over a month to plan our first trip to Disney. A place that people spend a year or more planning their trip! Why such short notice? Thank to Super Storm Sandy.
Last October we had planned to take a trip to Tennessee to visit relatives and start looking at areas as a possible place to relocate in a few years. We were all set to go and then Sandy hit. 9 days without power, keeping the genny running to keep water out of the basement, DH working around the clock to restore telephone service to Long Island...not a good time to leave for a trip out of state.
So fast forward to late July. DH realizes that we have to use our airline tix by the end of September or we'd lose that money so he said why not take a quick trip to Disney. After I picked myself up off the floor, I said "Are you kidding"? DH is not to keen on rides and he knew K's take on the whole Disney situation so I was surprised he suggested a trip there. But you don't have to ask me twice.
With a little Lego souvenir money bribe in place, K was finally willing to go see the mouse. But now the panic set in. How was I going to plan a trip to Disney in a little over a month?
First up....Where to stay?
I had originally wanted to stay at the Grand Floridian but that was a bit out of reach for a last minute trip. After looking at some of the other resorts we narrowed it down to the Caribbean Beach Resort and the Wilderness Lodge. The Wilderness Lodge won and we made our package reservation.
Now came what I was dreading the most and what gave (and still gives) me the most anxiety and stress of the whole planning process....dining reservations. Not only as we last minute with our plans, K has a food allergy which is a whole separate stress itself. One week of studying reviews on allergyfreemouse[dot]com and allergyeats[dot]com/disney/ and two nerve-wracking days on the Disney reservations web site and hotline, the initial reservations were made. I'm still fine-tuning the reservations but my main concern is hoping the Disney can accommodate K's food allergy and he is safe during our trip.
Well, this it for the first installment on our last minute trip planning adventure. Next up will be shopping for our Disney trip!
Wishes for all-
Michelle
This is our family's first trip to Disney World. My DH and I have both been once before (he during his childhood and my first (and only) time when I was in my early 30s) but this is our son's first trip and our first Disney vacation as a family.
Who's who in the Rorke family (from NY)
I'm Michelle, early 40's, librarian by trade, mom to a wonderful boy, a wife to a fantastic man.
DH is Matt, early 40's, cable-splicer by trade, avid model railroader and all-around nice guy.
DS is K (name left out for security reasons), is a 8-year-old Lego loving, , Nintendo DS addicted, baseball pitching phenom.
About K -
K is the only kid in the world who never wanted to go to Disney. I've been trying to get him to go on a Disney vacation for the last 4 years. Every time I asked him if he wanted to go see Mickey the answer was always NO! I could never figure out what is was until recently I think I figured it out.
Fireworks!
Every commercial we have see about Disney always featured fireworks and K is terrified of them. As soon as he would here the boom of a firework he would immediately head for his bed and hide he head under his pillow.
This year we did make some progress and he now likes the lights and colors of fireworks but not the sound. Watching a documentary on how fireworks were made really helped but the sound part is still scary for him.
But what really helped was when K learned there was a Lego store in DTD. Boy, he was on board with taking a trip down to the park now. Hey, whatever it takes...at least we are going!
Oh, by the way, did I mention that we are going in September....September 2013! Yes, little over a month to plan our first trip to Disney. A place that people spend a year or more planning their trip! Why such short notice? Thank to Super Storm Sandy.
Last October we had planned to take a trip to Tennessee to visit relatives and start looking at areas as a possible place to relocate in a few years. We were all set to go and then Sandy hit. 9 days without power, keeping the genny running to keep water out of the basement, DH working around the clock to restore telephone service to Long Island...not a good time to leave for a trip out of state.
So fast forward to late July. DH realizes that we have to use our airline tix by the end of September or we'd lose that money so he said why not take a quick trip to Disney. After I picked myself up off the floor, I said "Are you kidding"? DH is not to keen on rides and he knew K's take on the whole Disney situation so I was surprised he suggested a trip there. But you don't have to ask me twice.
With a little Lego souvenir money bribe in place, K was finally willing to go see the mouse. But now the panic set in. How was I going to plan a trip to Disney in a little over a month?
First up....Where to stay?
I had originally wanted to stay at the Grand Floridian but that was a bit out of reach for a last minute trip. After looking at some of the other resorts we narrowed it down to the Caribbean Beach Resort and the Wilderness Lodge. The Wilderness Lodge won and we made our package reservation.
Now came what I was dreading the most and what gave (and still gives) me the most anxiety and stress of the whole planning process....dining reservations. Not only as we last minute with our plans, K has a food allergy which is a whole separate stress itself. One week of studying reviews on allergyfreemouse[dot]com and allergyeats[dot]com/disney/ and two nerve-wracking days on the Disney reservations web site and hotline, the initial reservations were made. I'm still fine-tuning the reservations but my main concern is hoping the Disney can accommodate K's food allergy and he is safe during our trip.
Well, this it for the first installment on our last minute trip planning adventure. Next up will be shopping for our Disney trip!
Wishes for all-
Michelle
