Our Thanksgiving Trip-It was like herding cats! 7/16-FINAL THOUGHTS ARE DONE!!!!

[mom2mek]

I'M FINALLY STARTING THE TRIP REPORT! FOR THOSE OF YOU JUST JOINING IN, THE CAST OF CHARACTERS IS BELOW IN THE FIRST COUPLE OF POSTS AND THE REPORT IS GOING TO START ON PAGE 15, POST 215. SO FEEL FREE TO SKIP TO THAT PART AFTER YOU READ THE CAST! I HOPE TO "SEE" SOME OF YOU AFTER I START WRITING - PLEASE INTRODUCE YOURSELF!


Ok, well I have never done anything like this before, writing a pre-trip report, I mean, but I thought I would give it a whirl! It is extremely intimidating, what with so many incredible writers out there, but in hopes of extending the magic, I shall attempt! So bear with me and I hope someone reads or else I will feel pretty pathetic.

Chapters:
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22060820&postcount=215]Travel Day - Part 1[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22143019&postcount=222]Travel Day - Part 2[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22430235&postcount=239]Day 1 - MK - Part 1 -It begins![/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22456648&postcount=246]Day 1 - MK - Part 2[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22456648&postcount=247]Day 1 - MK - Part 3[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22457195&postcount=250]Day 1 - MK - Part 4[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22479321&postcount=255]Day 1 - MK - Part 5 (Pics added)[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22499209&postcount=269]Day 1 - MK - Part 6[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22500170&postcount=270]Day 1 - MK - Part 7[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22508022&postcount=274]Day 1 - MK - Part 8 - THE END[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22551759&postcount=289]Day 2 - MK & MGM - Part 1 & BBB[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22553618&postcount=292]Day 2 - MK & MGM - Part 2 - BBB Pics[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22597014&postcount=299]Day 2 - MK & MGM - Part 3 - MGM[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22598624&postcount=302]Day 2 - MK & MGM - Part 4[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22627591&postcount=304]Day 2 - MGM - Part 5[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22684560&postcount=311]Day 2 - MGM - Part 6[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22699847&postcount=313]Day 2 - MGM - Part 7[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22702739&postcount=317]Day 2 - MGM - Part 8 - Pics[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22713138&postcount=323]Day 2 - MGM - Part 9[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22770727&postcount=336]Day 3 - AK - Part 1[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22780406&postcount=349]Day 3 - AK - Part 2[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22816267&postcount=367]Day 3 - AK - Part 3[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22836354&postcount=378]Day 3 - AK - Part 4[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22874366&postcount=382]Day 3 - AK - Part 5[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22967032&postcount=414]Day 3 - AK - Part 6[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=22984812&postcount=421]Day 3 - AK - Part 7[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=23050276&postcount=444]Day 3 - AK - Part 8[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=23051951&postcount=445]Day 3 - AK - Wrap-up![/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=23136809&postcount=469]Day 4 - Epcot - Part 1[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=23176604&postcount=481]Day 4 - Epcot - Part 2[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=23177303&postcount=482]Day 4 - Epcot - Part 3[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=23239484&postcount=507]Day 4 - Epcot - Part 4[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=23327877&postcount=522]Day 4 - Epcot - Part 5[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=23390363&postcount=534]Day 4 - Epcot - Part 6[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=23523017&postcount=552]Day 4 - Epcot- Part 7[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=23560678&postcount=564]Day 4 - Epcot - Part 8[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=23677331&postcount=575]Day 4 - Epcot - Part 9[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=23732056&postcount=587]Day 4 - Epcot - Part 10 - Wrap-up![/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=23852456&postcount=615]Day 5 - THANKSGIVING - Part 1[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=24058642&postcount=657]Day 5 - THANKSGIVING - Part 2[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=24060994&postcount=660]Day 5 - THANKSGIVING - Part 3[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=24103727&postcount=671]Day 5 - THANKSGIVING - Part 4[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=24167936&postcount=693]Day 5 - THANKSGIVING - Part 5[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=24308406&postcount=718]Day 5 - THANKSGIVING - Part 6[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=24403427&postcount=732]Day 5 - THANKSGIVING - Part 7[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=24474867&postcount=741]Day 5 - THANKSGIVING - Wrap-up![/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=24627956&postcount=749]Day 6 - MK - Part 1[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=24650574&postcount=761]Day 6 - MK - Part 2[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=24817069&postcount=802]Day 6 - MK - Part 3[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=24920861&postcount=815]Day 6 - MK - Part 4[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25012577&postcount=830]Day 6 - Epcot - Part 5[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25083163&postcount=849]Day 6 - Epcot - Part 6[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25210802&postcount=875]Day 6 - Epcot and MK - Part 7[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25217824&postcount=881]Day 6 - Back to the MK - Part 8[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25376715&postcount=900]Day 6 - MK - Part 9[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25459604&postcount=912]Day 6 - The Wrap-up![/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25460688&postcount=913]Day 7 - Departure - Part 1[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25487169&postcount=927]Day 7 - Departure - Part 2[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=25588784&postcount=945]Day 7 - Departure - Part 3[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26267088&postcount=983]The End - Final Thoughts[/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26267216&postcount=984]Ha! More final thoughts![/url]
[url="http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26267644&postcount=985]And even more final thoughts![/url]

First, I will start with a little bit of background about our cast and prior trips together:

The cast includes 16 of us (yes, I said 16!) and the dates of our trip are 11/17 – 11/24 (yes, that IS thanksgiving week!).

Ok, now everyone can close their mouths or pick themselves up off the floor – we aren’t crazy! Well, maybe a little! But it was the week that worked the best for the majority of our group! My brother has that week off work anyway (he is a musician in an orchestra and they take that week off, so no vacation time eaten up for him), his wife is a freelance musician so her schedule is fairly flexible and their kids are not in school yet; my sister is a SAHM and she home-schools, but that doesn’t mean that her girls don’t have activities that require scheduling and T-day week is good for them, too – her DH is a police officer and has vacation that week as well. My son (6) is the only one in school out of my 3 kids and his school takes a week off at Thanksgiving, and my mom, step-dad, husband, and myself can all easily take vacation that week without a problem. It also works out that my Step-Dad, DH, and DBIL, all hunt together (I hate it and ask for no details!) for a few days in November so they will be leaving from this trip and heading to GA to do their male bonding and innocent deer stalking! So, without further ado, here is our cast:

Me (33) – Sara, lover of Disney and of the planning for Disney; wife of 11 years to my high-school sweetheart; Mom to 3 beautiful kids; full-time job working at the family business where my mom is my boss; last trip to WDW was in Jan of 2006, prior to that 2002, 2 times in the 80’s and at least once in the late 70’s as a child.

DH (34) – I like to think of him as like the Beast because he has a rough exterior, but on the inside is a kind heart with a sweet spirit; puts up with my obsession with Disney and the DIS (&TGM) especially when I mention anything about how obsessed he is with playing online war games with my brother-in-law and step-father! We all have our obsessions, now, don’t we?; husband of 11 years to me; Dad to our 3 kids; full-time (and then some) job working at the family business where my uncle is his boss (works many more hours than I do and is much more valuable to the company than I am – tech support, estimates, project mgmt, sales, I could go on and on); last trip to WDW was in Jan of 06, prior to that 2002 which was his 1st trip ever! Gives me a hard time about all my research, but in the end is very grateful that I do it! I love this man! (He would probably think I was crazy for writing a pre-trip report, though, so SHHHH!)

DM (60) – we shall call her the Fairy Godmother (not that she looks anything like her, though). Turned 60 this year, but looks waaaaay younger than that! A saint, an angel, my best friend, she is unselfish, kind, loving – get the idea? She is the rock of our family; 2nd in command when it comes to the planning, but pays for a lot of the trip – vacation house, many of the meals, spoils the grandkids, KWIM? Married to my step-father for 22 years (they actually will be celebrating their anniversary two weeks before our trip, so I plan on a couple of surprises for them); runs a family business with her 3 brothers (my uncles) and if it weren’t for her, they would kill each other, LOL; has 9 grandchildren (8 of which are coming on the trip) and spoils them all! Numerous trips to the World with my brother, sister, and (later) me in the 70’s (went to the MK with my bro the 1st year it opened), a trip in the 80’s with us as teenagers – scary - and for her 10th wedding anniversary to my DSF (just the two of them), then the aforementioned 2002 and 2006 trips! I will be posting some of those old 70's and 80's pics later (if I dare)!

DSF (61) – we shall call him Goofy – and the name fits! Peter Pan could be another suitable name though, as he really is a kid at heart! Looks and acts much younger than he is! Wonderful Pop-Pop to his 9 grandchildren; loves to spoil, not afraid to look silly in public – will have his face painted, wear funny hats and shirts, take goofy pics – all for the sake of the kids’ enjoyment! Hard worker, meticulous organizer (a bit anal retentive, but I won’t go there), a spiffy dresser, loves to fix things, is a great decorator, will talk to anyone about anything. He goes with the flow, but, unfortunately walks away from it too. The question of the day usually is “Where did Pop-Pop wander off to?” Loves my mom more than anything and is an all-around great guy!

DS (34) – we shall call her Mary Poppins – Practically Perfect in Every Way! She would hate it if she knew I described her that way – but it’s true! She is my hero! We didn’t always get along, but I will leave the stories of those tragic teenage years in the past, where they belong. She moved to GA when she was 19 and eventually met her DH and they have been married for 14 years and have 3 beautiful girls! She is a stay at home Mom and she home-schools her girls; She loves to plan, but for some reason, leaves most of the Disney planning to me! I don’t know why! She says I kind of "scare" her with my planning! I try not to take offense, but sometimes it does hurt my feelings! I try to think of things that everyone will like to do so that everyone feels included (her kids are older than mine and I know they will at times have other interests so I like to do the research to help find out how to get everything in, but I will try to toughen up and not get my feelings hurt when someone says my planning is “scary” – at least I know I can come on the DIS and feel the love!). Her trips to Disney mirror mine with the exception of 1 or 2 trips in the 70’s that I didn’t get to go on!
She is beautiful, funny, sweet, and the most patient mother I have ever met!

DBIL (42) – we shall call him Eeyore. His personality is one of the “glass half empty” kind. Except in Disney – where he tends to cheer up a bit (how could he not, it’s Disney, right?) We also like to think of him as the male equivalent of Debbie Downer (or the lesser known Steve Carell version – Bob Bummer) from SNL – a need to add bad news or negative feelings to a conversation;

“Hi Pluto. Boy, it must be fun to work here at Disney, although the biggest drawback of working at a theme park is that you must live under constant fear of deadly terrorist attacks.” Wah-wah sound plays in the background;

married to my sister for 14 years; Dad to 3 girls; Obsessed with security as he is a police lieutenant so is always a wee bit panicky about counting everyone and constantly checking around for possible threats ::cop: born and raised in southern GA and is a proud “redneck”. His other Disney “alter-ego” could be Gaston – not in the ego way, but more the- “he uses antlers in all of his decorating” -way and is also obsessed with working out and having big muscles!

Gaston and Eeyore – strange combo – maybe we should call him Gas-ore or Eey-Gas.

Er, maybe not.

You're enjoying your day
Everything's going your way
Then along comes Debbie Downer.
Always there to tell you 'bout a new disease
A car accident or killer bees
You'll beg her to spare you, "Debbie, Please!"
But you can't stop Debbie Downer!​

He’s not that bad, but my sister mentioned the Debbie Downer thing to me one time and I thought, “yes, that’s just like him!” For those of you unaware, check this skit out. I can’t stop laughing when I watch it!

http://www.buzznet.com/tags/debbiedowner/video/

DB (36) – we shall call him Mickey – as he is very fun loving and optimistic. He is a natural leader, has a great sense of direction (one look at a map and he is good to go), he is wise, comical, a great whistler, and is successful at almost anything he does. He is a classical musician, patient and loving husband of 10 years to my DSIL and very attentive father to his two kids. Has not been on a trip to Disney with his children yet, so that should be interesting and fun! Last trip was maybe 7 or 8 years ago; prior to that he had a few trips as a teenager/young adult and a few trips as a child in the 70’s and 80’s – went in 1972 – a few months after the grand opening! Probably thinks all my planning is overkill – but I will show him! Ha ha! He’s never been with a large group, over a busy time period, with A LOT of kids! I love proving myself, can you tell?

DSIL (38) – we shall call her Daisy (and really that’s not her “alter-ego”, but I just couldn’t come up with one that “fit” her, if you know what I mean. I’m open to suggestions. I chose Daisy because she (Daisy) is a modern woman, er, duck, with worldly interests and a taste for the finer things. Once you read more about her (my DSIL) in the TR, you could offer me up some Disney alter-ego advice on her! She is a concert pianist who grew up in New England and is a die-hard “NewEngland-er” I don’t know what that means, but she loves New England and since she just moved to St.Louis for my DB’s new job, she is, shall we say, adjusting (understatement)! She has a very quick wit, loves shoe shopping, has an incredible vocabulary and a wonderful ability for remembering lines from movies and TV programs. She and my brother keep their kids on a very tight schedule so life at the “world” could prove to be very interesting for them. My gut feeling is that she and my brother will pretty much “do their own thing” and not stay with the rest of us too much, but we shall see! Her sister also works part-time at Disney as a musician, so she will be catching up with her while we are there as well.

Ok, so that takes care of us adults. So far we have Me and the Beast, the Fairy Godmother and Goofy, Mary Poppins and Eeyore, and Mickey and Daisy. In reading back through this, I realize that I don’t have a Disney “alter-ego” for myself, so I guess I could go with Minnie – the girl next door, dedicated to her mouse (er, Man), down to earth, loves music and is often caught singing or humming to herself!

Although now that “pairs” me up with my brother, aka Mickey, and that’s just not right. Oh well, I will move on.

Next up... the youngins... and we have a gaggle of em!

Thanks for reading!

 

[KimmyDisneyNerd]

Hi! Can't wait to hear more. Sounds like it's gonna be fun. I will be here for the ride.
My parents used to take me that week of thanksgiving too! It's actually GREAT weather wise (from what I remember).

 

[mom2mek]

Thanks Kimmy! Wow - a reader! I'm very excited!
Ok, so on to the little ones. I will start with mine, because, well... they are mine!

DS (6) – we can call him DASH. It fits him perfectly. He is small, blond, and FAST! Boy, can that kid RUN! Loves everything about Star Wars and Pirates, and will probably spend all his Disney $$ to buy every sword or lightsaber he can get his hands on!

Very loving, thoughtful, good-natured little guy who enjoys playing with his cousins soooo much (I’m cherishing that right now since all but one of his cousins are girls (and the only other boy is much younger) so I know they won’t have nearly as much fun later in life with eachother as they do now, *sigh*). Loves to plan, can get quite obsessive about it actually, and loves watching videos of the rides when we find them on various sites and youtube. This will be his 3rd trip. His 1st was in 2002 when he was 14 months old. Of course he doesn’t remember it, but when we look at the pics he says he does. LOL. It’s very cute!

“Remember that Mommy, when we rode on Dumbo and it rained and I cried” as he looks at the picture of me and him, on Dumbo, in the rain, and he is crying! It’s very funny! His second trip was when he was four in 2006 – his favorite ride, by far, was Thunder Mountain. He is quite the “momma’s boy” still, but is in total awe of his Dad for his wicked video game skills – he is his hero when it comes to video games – LOL!

Just started first grade, a good student, a little bit of a whiner (I don’t know many 6 year olds who aren’t), but all around a great brother to his sisters and a wonderful little boy! Can you tell he has me wrapped?

DD (4) – don’t quite know what to call her as far as her Disney “alter-ego”. Her favorite character is Cinderella, she looks the most like Belle (brown hair, big eyes), but has a tad of a “grumpy” personality and a “piglet” amount of shyness!

Hmmm… Cinbelgrumplet? What do you think?

Anyways, she is making her 2nd trip to the World this time and I am looking forward to replacing her 2006 memories with much better ones (long story short, in 2006 12 of us went to WDW and got sick one by one with the stomach flu – most of us only for a day or so, but not DD – she had it off and on the WHOLE time – poor baby – she was only 2 yrs old and really, really wanted to ride in that honey pot – we never got the chance!)

She loves makeup, animals, and anything pink, and has developed an incredible bowling game on the Wii – scores over 200 each game – we call her KingPin (or QueenPin). First year in pre-school this year and first year of ballet. She is doing well so far. A little bit of a speech issue – tends to leave off the first consonant of the word as in “fish” is pronounced “ish”. We’re working on it! Loves my sister’s girls, especially the 7 year old, and reeeeaaaalllly loves my sister’s dogs! (And her own dog, Sam, of course!)

DD (2) – we shall call her Tigger, due to her “bounciness” although Dory would be a good match too as she tends to forget things the minute after she says them! She will be turning 3 a few weeks before our trip. Her favorite phrase right now is “no problem,” and overall she is a very happy kid! She does like to cause disruption in regards to her sister (not her brother, mind you, just her sister). This is her 2nd trip to the world, but she was only 1 when she went in 2006 – so it should be a tad different this time. Really enjoys looking at the maps (future DISer, I’m sure) and telling me where she thinks we should go. A bit fearless and isn’t afraid of much, so she might have a hard time not being able to go on certain things while others can – we shall see! Is currently about 50% potty-trained – we’re working on that one, too!

Ok, those are mine. Here is a pic of my husband and three musketeers: I haven't posted a picture before so I hope it works:

Now on to my 4 nieces and 1 nephew:

The next three are my sister’s girls:

DN (12) – I tend to think of her as most like Belle – she is sweet, loyal, kind-hearted, and an avid reader. She is also a bit like “Wendy” – as she is the oldest of all the kids, and kind of like their leader. Can be a bit like her dad (DBIL – see above) i.e. Eeyore /Debbie Downer, Jr– half glass empty kind of thing, as she tends to point out the health sanitation ratings in restaurants, notices people she thinks look scary as you are walking through a store, very cautious.

She is home-schooled by my sister and is very smart. She also has Cystic Fibrosis. She was diagnosed at the age of 5 when her youngest sister was diagnosed as a baby (for those of you who don’t know, it is a genetic disease, so when her baby sister was diagnosed, all three girls had to be tested. Up until that point, she never showed a single symptom, other than being a little small for her age). It is a chronic illness with no cure at this point. She undergoes a lot of treatments every day, including chest physical therapy, antibiotics, inhaled nebulizer treatments, enzyme capsules with all food, but is overall fairly healthy – has had only 1 hospital stay since she was diagnosed. Petite for her age, but a real beauty! She is also a very talented artist. She just recently got braces and glasses – oh the joys of tween years! Goes back and forth between acting like a “kid” and acting like a “teenager.” Fun! This will be her 3rd trip – 2002 and 2006 being the previous ones!

DN (9) – If I had to pick one character I would say Happy (from Snow White), because the girl is always in a good mood! She is a real joy! I smile just thinking about her! She was also named after me, so I had a soft spot for her right off the bat! As far as the princesses go, Mulan is probably fitting for her personality as she tends to like the more “ungirly” activities! She loves dinosaurs, bugs, running, climbing, and has an incredible imagination (probably why my DS loves her sooooo much!). Lots, lots, lots of energy and loves, loves, loves to eat!

Also home-schooled by my sister and does fairly well – although is more of a challenge regarding the academics! Has had a recent growth spurt and is now fairly tall for her age which makes it hard especially since both of her sisters are small for their ages, due to the CF. She is the size of a 13 year old, but has the personality of a bouncy 8-9 year old! This is also her 3rd trip to the World.

DN (7) – we shall call her Sleeping Beauty, as she is quite petite, sweet, gentle, and loving. As mentioned in her older sister’s description, she also has Cystic Fibrosis. She was diagnosed at 4 months old when she got a case of pneumonia that wouldn’t go away. She undergoes many treatments a day just like her sister, but is a real trooper. Has also only had 1 hospital stay since being diagnosed. She is very skinny (38 lbs for a 7 yr old) and is never without a smile!

She is very soft-spoken and loves my DS (they are 1 yr apart). She is a bit obsessed about the clothes that she wears – has particular things like long sleeves (even in summer) and pulling her socks way up to her knees, but I think it’s because she is usually cold – she is so tiny it’s like she is just skin stretched over bones! Is in 2nd grade (home-schooled), loves animals and ballet. She is my 4 year old’s hero! This is her 3rd trip as well.

Just as a side note, here is a picture of the aforementioned children taken this summer at the beach. They truly are the best of friends when they are together (my sister’s girls are on the right, my 3 are on the left)

The next two are my brother’s little ones:

DN (4) – we shall call her Tinkerbell. This is my DB and DSIL’s little girl. She is small, fast, and feisty – hence, Tinkerbell. She is smart as a whip and will probably follow in her parent’s footsteps and become a musician – she has quite an ear and an incredible knack for memorizing things! High, high, high energy! Did I mention that she is energetic? Doesn’t like to sit in a stroller too much and tends to refer to her cousins as “those kids” and "my cousins" instead of their names, and goes between playing with them to wanting to be by herself sometimes. Started preschool and ballet this year and does a mean James Brown impression! This will be her 1st trip to Disney – or as she calls it Mickey Mouse Land!

DN (2) – we shall call him Pooh! He is silly, willy, and nilly as well as chubby and stuffed with fluff! LOL. He is a sweetheart! Copies everything his big sister (see above) does, much to her dismay. Easygoing with a wonderful temperament. 1st trip to the world for this little guy!

So that sums it up. We have Dash, Cinbelgrumplet, Tigger, Belle, Happy, Sleeping Beauty, Tinkerbell, and Pooh in the kid category. Don’t worry – I don’t plan on using those alter-egos the whole report. I just thought it would be fun to try and fit a Disney character to the personality! Some fit better than others!

And for anyone wondering, here is a picture of the whole group of kids with "grandmommy and pop-pop." All but the littlest will be on the trip:

Oh, I failed to mention my sister’s 3 dogs that will be along (we are staying in a vacation home offsite that allows certain pets). I only mention them because they are very interesting – well at least 2 of them. One is a small (3lb) long-haired chihahua. Nothing against chihauhaua’s but the dog suits the breed – she is temperamental and yippy. No offense to all the Chihauhaua lovers out there, but she is a little hard to warm up to! She will probably be staying with a friend and not making the trip to Disney.
The other two are American Hairless Terriers – The male is 3 years old and about 10 lbs (pictured below). He is a wonderful dog! This will be his 2nd trip to Disney although his first where he can stay with us at the house. Very well behaved and no hair! I love it! He isn’t scary looking – he’s quite cute! I was skeptical at first when she first described him to me, but he looks kind of like a Jack Russell Terrier (has light and dark patches of skin), but when you go to touch him, he feels like a rubber chew toy. They needed a dog with little to no hair due to the girls' illness. So this breed works out very well!

The 3rd is a “special needs” American Hairless puppy – as if being hairless wasn’t bad enough, this poor dog also has a hairlip and a major equilibrium issue. She is um... adorable and my sister took her to give her a good home! Don’t really know what’s actually wrong with her yet.

Here is a pic of the older hairless terrier, Sipowicz (like NYPD Blue):

So there you have it – the motley crew!

Up next, a trip back in time. I’ve got some old pics from the 70’s and the (scary) 80’s. Do I dare post them?

Sara

 

[mom2mek]

So, (insert wavy lines here), let me take you back to a couple of way cool decades – the 70’s and the 80’s – and share with you a few pics of our previous trips to the World:

Never mind... I will try later. I can't seem to post my pictures correctly! What's wrong with me, for pete's sake. I will get back to this after I do some real work!

 

[KimmyDisneyNerd]

Oh man... I was looking forward to those pics LOL. Love the pics of your family! The one of the kids on the beach is one of the neatest pics I have ever seen. Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to more.

 

[mom2mek]

OK, so let's try this again! I hope this time it works. For some reason, every time I tried to post my "old" pics it wouldn't let me.

Disclaimer: Sorry the pictures are so grainy. They are a bit ancient!

When Disney was young, and we were younger:

I believe this is walking to the monorail (TTC) from the parking lot or vice versa - circa 1975 - that's my Dad, and my brother is in the cute red shoes!

The Crystal Palace – brother on the left, sister on the right.

Where am I, you ask? Well…. they didn’t bring me!!
What? I was a full year old – they soooo could have!
But I’m not bitter!

Brother, Sister, Dad, on Dumbo – do they still let a child sit on a lap?

I love the reeeeaaaallllyyy flat Mickey Mouse and (I don't know if you can see it real well) but my sister is holding a Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal, yet Winnie the Pooh really didn't look anything like himself. Just some generic old bear. Silly, willy, nilly, generic old bear! What was up with that?

Where are these? Anyone? Anyone? I don't think I have seen them the last few times we have been to WDW. Maybe I just wasn't looking for them, so I didn't see them.

Brother and Dad on Indy! I can’t figure out why the steering wheel is on the right side of the car (maybe this picture was flipped or something). Or is the ride like that? I haven’t been on it or looked at it that closely in the last couple of trips to know!

That's all I have for now - but later I do finally show up on a trip and I will post those pics next! Again, I'm not bitter, can you tell? Maybe that's why I'm the one who is obsessed about Disney - I'm trying to fulfill all my deep, dark, suppressed, sad, memories of being left behind!

Just kidding!

Then, I will try to be brave to post the very scary pre-teen/teenage mid 1980's pictures! We were a great looking group! NOT!

Sara

 

[mom2mek]

Ok, so fast forward a few years and.... I finally get to go!

These are from (I think) 1979 although it could be 1980, I'm not sure. I look about 5 or 6. Hey, at least I'm THERE this time! Geez - my siblings were old pros by now and I'm just getting started!

That's me with Peter Pan - I wonder where that guy is now?

In front of the castle - Look, trees! That's (L to R) Mom, Sister, Brother, Me, and the grandparents (30 years later and they look EXACTLY the same - I'm not even kidding - EXACTLY the same - my Grandma still wears that sweater and probably still carries that purse!)

Sister and brother with Pluto – MAN, do his whiskers look painful! Are they still like that?
It looks like we had to wear badges of some kind – I’ve seen them in a couple of the other pics, like ski lift tickets. Anyone remember these?

Is that Baloo? Love how you can see his headpiece "flap" thingy! My sister and I are on the left. Don't know who the chick is with the socks!

Bro on the Carousel!

Mom and I on the Carousel - Whee! Talk about a ride weenie! I mean, geez, the Carousel? I couldn't ride THAT by myself?

80's pictures coming up soon! Yikes!

Sara

 

[KimmyDisneyNerd]

Hey Sara,
Where did ya go?

 

[mom2mek]

HI there! I'm here, I just had to be out for a while for unexpected gall bladder surgery! Not fun! Will write more soon when I'm not so doped up on meds! Thanks for checking in!

 

[KimmyDisneyNerd]

HI there! I'm here, I just had to be out for a while for unexpected gall bladder surgery! Not fun! Will write more soon when I'm not so doped up on meds! Thanks for checking in!

aww... poor you! I have been there done that. NOT FUN!
I hope you feel better soon! Take your time I will be here

 

[princessreilly]

I just found your thread, it looks like an interesting trip. My family would kill each other if we took that many people! I like the old pics. Wish I could find some of my old ones! Hope you're feeling better soon!

 

[Poohtigeey]

Kimmy's recruiting for you! Can't wait to hear more! Great pics!

I've also done the gall bladder surgery.

Heal quick!

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Hi! I'm another of Kimmy's recruits! Sounds like a fun trip you have planned. I'm interested to find out how the large group works out and also how it is at Thanksgiving.

Love the pic of your sisters dog - looks like a cutie!

And I love all of the old Disney pictures. Looking forward to the 80's!

 

[mrsksomeday]

I am a Kimmy recruit too. So sorry to hear about the surgery. Great start to your pre-trippie. I would not be able to handle that many family members .

Also.....

The 3rd is a “special needs” American Hairless puppy – as if being hairless wasn’t bad enough, this poor dog also has a hairlip and a major equilibrium issue. She is um... adorable and my sister took her to give her a good home! Don’t really know what’s actually wrong with her yet.

Sara

Please, oh please tell me you have a picture of this "special needs" puppy. I would absolutely love to see it. I had never heard of an American Hairless Terrier before I read your report. We have a Jack Russell/Rat Terrier that sheds like crazy.

Patiently waiting until you get better to type out your next installment .

 

[roxannensteve]

And yet another Kimmy recruit. You are going with such a big group - but why aren't yall bring the little one in the picture?

 

[mom2mek]

Wow! Thanks guys! There's nothing like a few readers to make a girl feel better! I appreciate it! This is the 1st day that I have felt half-way normal, so I'm checking up on the DIS and hopefully will post my 80's pics later on. Then on to the trips from this decade!

Kimmy - Thanks for recruiting! It's nice to have a few more readers! Thanks for keeping up with me!


princessreilly - Thanks for reading! We are hoping for a great trip! We all get along fairly well with a few "parenting" differences, if you know what I mean! LOL. The kids truly are the best of friends when they are together so I know they will have a good time, and that's what truly matters.

Poohtigeey - THanks for the well wishes! This gall bladder surgery is for the birds! Yikes! From what people told me I thought Id be feeling way better than I do right now. I guess each person is different.


Michelle - Thanks! I'm glad Kimmy is recruiting for me - you start to feel a little pathetic when you write and have no readers! The trip should be lots of fun - we have never been with ALL 16 of us (only 12 last time) and never at THanksgiving! The dog really is cute! He sounded scary when she first described him, but has grown on me!

mrsksomeday - Thanks for reading! I will try to find a picture of Olive. She really is cute (and I'm not kidding), she just walks a little crooked and sometimes falls down - they have to be real careful with her and steps, etc as navigating isn't a skill she handles well. She's dark in color, so you really can't tell that she is hairless until you touch her. Seriously, my husband and I were skeptical of how much we would like a hairless dog, but after seeing them we have decided that that will be the kind of dog we get next. We have a boxer right now and love him dearly but the hair - geez! It's crazy! My two nieces that have Cystic Fibrosis were the primary reason they tried to find a hairless breed - had to have little to no hair for allergy/respiratory reasons!

roxannensteve - Thanks for reading! Are you referring to the picture with all the kids? The baby in that picture is my step-sister's little boy and unfortunately they live out in Oregon and are coming to the East Coast for Christmas this year, so didn't think they could handle two EC trips within a month of eachother. Theme parks aren't really their thing anyway (although Disney would change them I think), so they didn't see too upset about it. Maybe next time!


Will post more soon!
Sara


My 4 year old wanted to add some smilies:

 

[KimmyDisneyNerd]

Glad to hear you are feeling a little better.

 

[mom2mek]

OK, I am very brave for posting the following pics. These are, without a doubt, atrocious! Is that how you spell that? Anyway, when you combine the oh-so-lovely pre-teen/teen years with the mid-80’s fashions you get …. YIKES! And I don't think I've had enough of my post-surgery meds to do this, but I shall carry on! These are circa summer of '86!

By the way, what is up with the gigantic glasses we pre-teens had to wear back in the 80’s? Could eyeglass makers not make them even the tiniest bit smaller – I mean they covered our whole face, for pete’s sake! (Or was that just our family?) You have been warned – look at your own risk but I cannot guarantee your safety! First pic is so small you probably can't make out a whole lot anyway!

At the hotel. I have no idea where we stayed!

Thank goodness this was taken from so far away! I’m trying to ease you (and me) into the scary ones!

AND...WHAMO! I warned you! Don’t know what kind of face my step-sister was making – we tended to do that a lot – make odd faces – I’m sure we thought we were pretty fierce, though! We loved the double tank-tops, too!

At Indy! Love my step-father’s collar – very Miami Vice!

At Epcot. We are soooo rocking the crazy tropical print shorts! My brother was trying to be very cool! Umm.... not working!

Ok, so now we thought we were very smart! “Let’s put these funny light-up things in our ears and make it look like we are all connected!” Brilliant! I think we were waiting for the fireworks show at Epcot to start (don't remember what it was called then). Biding our time with stupid activities! We were real dorks! (Like I needed to point that out!)

This is at Epcot somewhere, I’m just not sure where! Anyone recognize it?

My brother in the MK. (I've got to tell you, it’s a good thing my siblings aren’t aware of the DIS because they would KILL me if they knew I put these pics up here! SHHHH!)

So this is a real winner! This is inside Pirates along with everyone else in the MK at that moment - since it started to downpour! We were having a great time - even with those ridiculous sized glasses! I'm not sure why some of us look quite so pitiful - I think we were doing that on purpose! For what reason, I don't know!

Mom and step-dad outside hotel – man they had some skinny ankles – geez - his practically disappear before you get to his socks!

Last one! Epcot was still fairly new - and we loved it! I have to stop embarrassing myself now!


Up next, the trips from this decade...

Sara

 

[Poohtigeey]

The only downside is you are now REQUIRED to read all of our reports! Can't help ya w/ the gall bladder healing advice. I had a Csection the same week as mine and it was a little more than the basic gall bladder surgery. I was on some good drugs!

 

[Poohtigeey]

Great pictures!!

Um, I still have that Goofy hat!