Parks are closed? Let's have another kid instead. (A December 2022 PTR)

[MyGoofy26]

Is my title a little hyperbolic? Maybe a little. But honestly that's pretty much what happened.

Would you like to hear the tale of how an already agonizing 4 year gap in trips turned into a 6 1/2 year gap in trips resulting in two toddlers getting their very first Disney trip this December?

Yes? Great! Stick around!

No? But you might have advice for parents bringing an almost four and almost two year old to Disney for the first time when they've lived relatively sheltered pandemic lives and haven't experienced anything nearly as chaotic as a theme park? Please, for the love of god, stick around and help me!

So let's start off with the basics and introduce our group.

Who
Me, my husband, two daughters, my mom and my aunt.

When
December 3rd through 9th, 2022

Where
All Star Movies Resort

Why
Did you not read that I've waited SIX AND A HALF YEARS to get back to Disney? Plus I finally get to take my kids?

How
Four attempts over the course of a pandemic it's all finally coming together
​

 

[MyGoofy26]

Cast of Characters


(me and Ava)​

First up is me, Carrie, the main planner. I grew up going to Disney starting at the young age of 9 months, a semester on the college program back in 2000, and my last trip was my honeymoon March 2016 which led to a long and unplanned break from vacationing. After that trip we went down a tough road of infertility which made traveling anything more than quick weekend getaways tough. We couldn't anticipate where we'd be in treatment or (hopefully) pregnancy so trips were on hold.

(Zach and the girls at Paul McCartney in June)​

Next is my husband, Zach. He'd never been to Disney til our honeymoon but he loved it. As he said to me once, what Disney didn't already own of his childhood they went out and bought so why wouldn't he love it? His favorites on that trip were the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Playground (RIP), Jock Lindsey's, and hugs from Chewie. He indulged my park nerdiness and is on board for whatever I throw at him for this trip.

(Harper after her dance recital in June)​

Then comes Harper, the one who broke our streak of bad fertility luck. We had four early losses, several medicated rounds, and four IUIs but we finally got her on New Years Eve 2018. She's my mini, an absolute monkey who always wants to run and jump and climb, and an absolute ham. She loves being a big sister, and talks about Disney all the time. She's so excited for this trip.

(Ava on the 4th of July)​

After Harper we have Ava. Ava was our pandemic "surprise" baby. We were trying, but we wanted another baby, but didn't hold out much hope of naturally conceiving after yet another early loss after Harper. We were planning on revisiting our reproductive endocrinologist (RE) after our doomed May 2020 trip, which turned into waiting for lockdown to end and it to be safe to start seeing our RE again, and then surprise! By May we had a positive test and this one stuck!

(My mom, or Mimi as the girls call her)​

Travelling with us are my mom and my aunt. My mom was a single parent so I grew up going to WDW every year (sometimes a couple times a year) with her, my grandparents and my aunt (her sister). It felt right that the girls first trip be a recreation of that.

 

[MyGoofy26]

Current but Ever Changing Plans​

You guys have been through this as well, right? You're constantly changing your minds, changing reservations, changing dining. This has been my worst one yet.

First attempt:
We were supposed to have two rooms at Coronado Springs for May 2020 on a PIN code. Guys! I got a PIN CODE! And then wasn't able to use it.

I always do all of the planning, but since work was busy and new parenting was busy I decided to use an agent this time and I'm so thankful I did. When everything shut down he was the one who had to sit on hold for hours to make changes. It's a husband and wife team and they've been so patient with us and such a huge help. We were so looking forward to that trip. I'd managed to snag some great reservations including Dining with an Imagineer where my husband was going to take Harper off so my mom, cousin and I could go.

Second attempt:
We rebooked for September 2020 at Wilderness Lodge with the discount being offered to make up for those with cancelled plans because SURELY the pandemic would be over by then, hahahahahaha. But then Ava surprised us and I wasn't comfortable travelling during a pandemic in a high risk pregnancy so we moved it again.

Third attempt:
We booked a Fort Wilderness Cabin for December 2021 because this time the pandemic will definitely be over, right? But wait, Harper's really into Finding Nemo so let's switch to a Nemo Suite at AOA. Of course we all recall the variants were slamming Florida hard so after thinking it through we decided we'd waited this long, let's delay one more time to see if they come out with the vaccine for kids.

Fourth attempt:
This is where we are today. We are currently booked for All Star Movies. When we booked everything seemed so in flux with pricing and new add ons and out of control Chapek-gouging that I just wanted to commit to one of the cheapest rooms in case the budget needed to shift elsewhere. We debated April/May or December, but the girls loved all things Christmas last year that we decided to push it to December this year and blow their minds with the decorations.

It also worked out because the girls were able to get vaccinated over the past month! Yay! It was a big day at the local county health department.

​

So now it feels real, like it's actually going to happen this time. We got our airfare on Southwest the morning it was released, paid for early bird to hopefully get seated early, and rented our stroller. We ordered regular Magic Bands, then when Magic Band + was released Disney was kind enough to reset our account so that we were able to order new ones with the discount.

Our regular Magic Bands:

​

 

[rdkeim]

Following! Hope this trip works out for you!

 

[Momma of 4]

Can't wait to hear about all your planning!

 

[Woth2982]

Following along! I have a 2 year old DD and a 7 month old DS! I am heading to Disney on Tuesday with Hubby and DD. DS is staying home with grandma and grandpa. So I will hopefully be able to provide some tips!