Planning our first family trip to the World!

[JustRZ]

We're taking a break from school, work, and the horrid weather that is central Illinois winter and heading to the World in January! This will be my 3rd trip and my husband and kids' first (DD will be 6 and DS will be 5 when we go), and will fall just after our anniversary and DH's birthday!

I have noticed that this place is kind of bad for my sleep :

I'm a terrible planner (and by terrible, I mean super-obsessive-can't-sleep-until-everything-is-perfect-on-paper-so-I-can-freak-out-when-something-goes-just-a-little-out-of-plan-making-everyone-around-me-run-for-their-lives-so-I-can-explode-for-5-minutes-before-recomposing-myself-to-have-a-good-time) and it is absolutely making me CRAZY that Disney hasn't released hours/rates/etc for January yet! C'mon, it's only 7 months away and I NEED to plan, people!

So, there you have it, your first, and certainly not last, dose of crazy from JustRZ

 

[jesswindsor]

Are you going to make any ADR's? (Advanced Dining Reservation's) If you are I suggest doing that first, it makes it a lot easier if you eat in a park that you are planning to go to that park on the day of your ADR. If you aren't doing any ADR's, then you need to decide if you are going to stay on or off property. How many days you are going and if you want to upgrade to hopper passes. But most of all, pick a park, have everyone in your family pick out what they want to do the most and do that first. Have fun.....get to planning LOL!!!

 

[jsavage4]

I know the feeling! We spent 18 months planning before making our reservations! And now we just can't wait for these last few months to get here so that we can go!

The hardest part for us is not telling the kids...it will be a surprise trip for them!

 

[monica9]

Where are you staying and for how long?

 

[JustRZ]

Are you going to make any ADR's? (Advanced Dining Reservation's) If you are I suggest doing that first, it makes it a lot easier if you eat in a park that you are planning to go to that park on the day of your ADR. If you aren't doing any ADR's, then you need to decide if you are going to stay on or off property. How many days you are going and if you want to upgrade to hopper passes. But most of all, pick a park, have everyone in your family pick out what they want to do the most and do that first. Have fun.....get to planning LOL!!!

Still convincing DH that breakfast at Crystal Palace would be amazing for the kids, and I would like to eat at a couple other places, so yes, probably some ADRs to make in 40 days when my window opens

We have been watching youtube videos of all the rides, watching all of the Disney Park shows on Netflix and watching the planning DVD over and over again so everyone can pick what they absolutely HAVE to do so I can add it into the plan.

We are going to be in the World Jan 25- Feb 1, and still aren't sure if we will stay on or off property. I'm holding out for on property, mainly so we don't need a rental car for the whole trip and for the dining plan. I know my rather miserly DH will have a hard time with a lot of the food pricing and that it will ruin his good time Poor DH.

If I get my way and we stay on property, I am looking at Pop or CBR, but leaning more toward Pop to help DH the miser cope with the financial aspects of the trip. (Truthfully, we are not being irresponsible and going to Disney when we can't really afford it, he just has a hard time spending that much money )

 

[JustRZ]

I know the feeling! We spent 18 months planning before making our reservations! And now we just can't wait for these last few months to get here so that we can go!

The hardest part for us is not telling the kids...it will be a surprise trip for them!

I wish we could do a surprise trip, but a few things stand in our way. One, I cannot keep a secret that is this awesome, I just can't, I've never been able to keep happy secrets. Two, the kids have sensory processing disorder and need to be as well prepared for this as possible to lessen the possibility of meltdowns. And last but not least, with DH working third shift, we rarely have a chance to talk about anything trip related without the kids in earshot.

Oh well, maybe the next trip, since they will know what to expect