tinacaplan
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2009
- Messages
- 3,789
Wishin and Hopin and Prayin Plannin and Dreamin
Or: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How...
Thanks for stopping by. I hope that I can inform and entertain you half as much as many of you have informed and entertained me over the past year or so. Besides, this has been such a great way to meet lots of wonderful, warm-hearted, supportive people a few of whom figure somewhat prominently in this report! It will be a truly ROCKY ride through a thrilling week of Disney adventures (and misadventures) starring yours truly, my darling son, Max, my husband, my mom, and cameos from a few Dis friends!
Last May I blithely began a PTR for a trip that I was only wishing and hoping might, maybe, happen. But the story actually begins a bit further back than that. I have to admit, right up front, that I never considered myself a Disney fan. Despite some of my warmest memories of my childhood relating directly to Disneyworld and Disney movies, I never listed Disney as an interest, never owned any Disney paraphanelia, and did not forsee it becoming a huge part of my childs life, either. What a difference a year makes, no?
Allow me to pause for a brief moment and introduce myself properly. Im from New England and admittedly can sometimes lack basic social skills! I have to explain that when I first joined the Dis, I thought, oh, its like Facebook, Ill just use my real name..thus, no interesting Dis screename. Oh well. So, yes, my name is, in fact, Tina. Im about to turn thirty-five and have been married to Mark, my dear husband, for five and a half years. I teach and am the upper school team leader at a public charter school in New Haven, Connecticut. I love my job and its more than just a career to me; its my calling in life and I truly believe that the work I am doing will change the world. Im also a mom to an adorable (albeit often incorrigible) three and a half year-old son, Max. Aside from my new obsession with all things Disney, Im really into music, cooking (at least I used to be...when I had the time), and reading. My favorite Disney movies are Mary Poppins, Lady and the Tramp, and Beauty and the Beast. I am also partial to Bambi, as I starred as Thumper in a critically acclaimed stage version when I was in first grade. Too bad that predates digital photographs and the internet by at least a decade! I visited Disneyworld with my parents twice in the late eighties, and both times we stayed off-site, as those were the days before the plethora of on-site options we are blessed with today. When the monorail passed through the Contemporary, I thought it would be super-glam to stay there and that you must have to really rich to stay there! And I still feel the same way! It is most definitely on my list of someday resorts.
Me, in my classroom, this year...wonder what someone had just said?
My husband is turning forty and he is also a teacher, although he doesnt love it quite the same way that I do. Which isnt to say he isnt good at his job, mind you. He loves movies and presidential history. He is also a huge Star Wars fan. He is not the most adventurous person in the world, generally likes being home, and would have been undoubtedly hard-pressed to name a favorite Disney movie before this past year. Im not sure what he would say now, but he does love Pixar and we have all watched Beauty and the Beast several times since he went out and bought it on Blu-Ray when it first came out this fall.
Mark went to Disney as a kid once, but remembered very little of the trip.
Max is three and a half and a very active, articulate little person whose gift of gab made him several friends during the course of our trip. He loves watching the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and his favorite Disney movie, hands down, is Cars. He even has a Lightening McQueen bed! Like most three year olds, sitting still is not his strong suit and I will admit, he is prone to tantrums. But he is just so gosh-darn cute! I knew going in that riding the Disney busses and staying at the resort would be just as big of a deal to him as any of the rides would be. He really loves hotels!
I booked my husband and I a trip to Disneyworld last February to celebrate our fifth anniversary. It was, in my mind, a way to take the honeymoon we never had. Why Disney you ask? Neither my husband or I are very experience travellers. I was afraid of taking a cruise, I thought Id be ill the whole time. My husband is not a beach person, so a resort in the Caribbean, while tempting, would more than likely have left my husband bored and a tad cranky. Europe? We only had a week! Vegas? Um...no. While I would like to see it one day, were not gamblers or big drinkers. My mom, of all people, had taken a brief trip to Disneyworld a few years back with her best friend and it piqued my interest. Besides, had our best family vacations for my youth been spent at Disneyworld? Was it not a truly magical place with resorts that looked truly out of this world?
I researched like a crazy person on-line and stumbled on the Disboards. I went back and forth about what resort to choose, but after seeing the rehabbed rooms on Kathys thread, I knew I had found the moderately priced resort of my dreams in Coronado Springs! So, I booked our trip that fall. All was going reasonably well...and then...the LETTER. Lets just say there have been a series of not so pleasant exchanges with our very near next door neighbors which has caused us unbelievable levels of stress and well, basically ruined our trip last year. I am not exaggerating when I say that I cried in nearly every country in World Showcase. Fast forward to this year and were in the process of selling our house for a variety of reasons, some of which have to do with the neighbors. Lets just say that we are in a MUCH better
place this year for a variety of reasons and I was happy to get a second chance to create a perfect Disney vacation.
So, did I suceeed? Was our trip picture perfect? Well, no...of course not! But, if you stick with me, youll get to hear all about the ups and downs, rocks and rolls, of our very first family trip to Disney.
While I was trying to figure out a theme or a title for this trip report, I thought it would be a fun challenge for myself to try and come up with appropriate song lyrics for each chapter title. Im going with this and there will be an utterly meaningless, virtual prize to whomever correctly identifies the song and artist from which said lyrics are taken!
Lets get on with the show....
Or: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How...
Welcome to my first-ever Disney Trip Report!
Thanks for stopping by. I hope that I can inform and entertain you half as much as many of you have informed and entertained me over the past year or so. Besides, this has been such a great way to meet lots of wonderful, warm-hearted, supportive people a few of whom figure somewhat prominently in this report! It will be a truly ROCKY ride through a thrilling week of Disney adventures (and misadventures) starring yours truly, my darling son, Max, my husband, my mom, and cameos from a few Dis friends!
Last May I blithely began a PTR for a trip that I was only wishing and hoping might, maybe, happen. But the story actually begins a bit further back than that. I have to admit, right up front, that I never considered myself a Disney fan. Despite some of my warmest memories of my childhood relating directly to Disneyworld and Disney movies, I never listed Disney as an interest, never owned any Disney paraphanelia, and did not forsee it becoming a huge part of my childs life, either. What a difference a year makes, no?
Allow me to pause for a brief moment and introduce myself properly. Im from New England and admittedly can sometimes lack basic social skills! I have to explain that when I first joined the Dis, I thought, oh, its like Facebook, Ill just use my real name..thus, no interesting Dis screename. Oh well. So, yes, my name is, in fact, Tina. Im about to turn thirty-five and have been married to Mark, my dear husband, for five and a half years. I teach and am the upper school team leader at a public charter school in New Haven, Connecticut. I love my job and its more than just a career to me; its my calling in life and I truly believe that the work I am doing will change the world. Im also a mom to an adorable (albeit often incorrigible) three and a half year-old son, Max. Aside from my new obsession with all things Disney, Im really into music, cooking (at least I used to be...when I had the time), and reading. My favorite Disney movies are Mary Poppins, Lady and the Tramp, and Beauty and the Beast. I am also partial to Bambi, as I starred as Thumper in a critically acclaimed stage version when I was in first grade. Too bad that predates digital photographs and the internet by at least a decade! I visited Disneyworld with my parents twice in the late eighties, and both times we stayed off-site, as those were the days before the plethora of on-site options we are blessed with today. When the monorail passed through the Contemporary, I thought it would be super-glam to stay there and that you must have to really rich to stay there! And I still feel the same way! It is most definitely on my list of someday resorts.
Me, in my classroom, this year...wonder what someone had just said?
My husband is turning forty and he is also a teacher, although he doesnt love it quite the same way that I do. Which isnt to say he isnt good at his job, mind you. He loves movies and presidential history. He is also a huge Star Wars fan. He is not the most adventurous person in the world, generally likes being home, and would have been undoubtedly hard-pressed to name a favorite Disney movie before this past year. Im not sure what he would say now, but he does love Pixar and we have all watched Beauty and the Beast several times since he went out and bought it on Blu-Ray when it first came out this fall.
Mark went to Disney as a kid once, but remembered very little of the trip.
Max is three and a half and a very active, articulate little person whose gift of gab made him several friends during the course of our trip. He loves watching the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and his favorite Disney movie, hands down, is Cars. He even has a Lightening McQueen bed! Like most three year olds, sitting still is not his strong suit and I will admit, he is prone to tantrums. But he is just so gosh-darn cute! I knew going in that riding the Disney busses and staying at the resort would be just as big of a deal to him as any of the rides would be. He really loves hotels!
I booked my husband and I a trip to Disneyworld last February to celebrate our fifth anniversary. It was, in my mind, a way to take the honeymoon we never had. Why Disney you ask? Neither my husband or I are very experience travellers. I was afraid of taking a cruise, I thought Id be ill the whole time. My husband is not a beach person, so a resort in the Caribbean, while tempting, would more than likely have left my husband bored and a tad cranky. Europe? We only had a week! Vegas? Um...no. While I would like to see it one day, were not gamblers or big drinkers. My mom, of all people, had taken a brief trip to Disneyworld a few years back with her best friend and it piqued my interest. Besides, had our best family vacations for my youth been spent at Disneyworld? Was it not a truly magical place with resorts that looked truly out of this world?
I researched like a crazy person on-line and stumbled on the Disboards. I went back and forth about what resort to choose, but after seeing the rehabbed rooms on Kathys thread, I knew I had found the moderately priced resort of my dreams in Coronado Springs! So, I booked our trip that fall. All was going reasonably well...and then...the LETTER. Lets just say there have been a series of not so pleasant exchanges with our very near next door neighbors which has caused us unbelievable levels of stress and well, basically ruined our trip last year. I am not exaggerating when I say that I cried in nearly every country in World Showcase. Fast forward to this year and were in the process of selling our house for a variety of reasons, some of which have to do with the neighbors. Lets just say that we are in a MUCH better
place this year for a variety of reasons and I was happy to get a second chance to create a perfect Disney vacation.
So, did I suceeed? Was our trip picture perfect? Well, no...of course not! But, if you stick with me, youll get to hear all about the ups and downs, rocks and rolls, of our very first family trip to Disney.
While I was trying to figure out a theme or a title for this trip report, I thought it would be a fun challenge for myself to try and come up with appropriate song lyrics for each chapter title. Im going with this and there will be an utterly meaningless, virtual prize to whomever correctly identifies the song and artist from which said lyrics are taken!
Lets get on with the show....
Yes, you are, Ann Marie! I never get in on the first page, either. Of course, I'm not usually up this late, either.
I had to go back and edit what I wrote. I was so darn excited. 
I wanna go back .......... can you come too? 
