Victoriasmom98
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2009
- Messages
- 2,785
I really wasn't going to do a pretrip report as I thought I would be rehashing the same plans as in prior trips. I mean, I really don't do anything different from year to year other than purchase different items for the trip. But I've found that I've really missed sharing the little things that I've been going through and getting for our trip, so here I am.....starting my pretrip report for our August 2012 adventure. I have to figure out a cute, catchy title, though. For the life of me I can't think of anything funny or intelligent at this point.
So, let's start with the cast of characters.....
I hope you all don't mind, but I'm going to copy and paste the introductions from my prior report. I mean, our backstory doesn't change from year to year, right? So, for those of you who know me and my family, you can skip this part, unless you are a glutton for punishment...
My DD 14 Victoria......
She and I have been the 2 peas in a pod since I divorced her father when she was 4. It's been she and I against the world since then. She's not as much as a Disney fanatic as I am but I'll get her there!!! hee, hee. She's had her share of trials so far in her 14 years so I tend to spoil her and try to "make up for it". She was born with infant torticollis which basically means her head and neck muscles didn't develop as they should have while I was pregnant. She wore a head cast for 6 months to shape her head properly and had physical therapy for the first 2 years of her life. When she was 5, we discovered she had a tethered spinal cord which required surgery to fix. Her tethered spinal cord made potty training extremely difficult (as she didn't feel when she had to go) and it has caused recurring UTI's which have continued to this day. She does she a Pediatric Nephrologist in Portland, Maine so we are working on it. After her surgery she had an additional 2 years of physical therapy. She's doing great, though, even though she will never be great at team sports or any activity that requires lots of balance. It was also around the time she was 5 when my dad, her beloved Pepere passed away of a massive heart attack. That prompted me to realize that life is too short to be miserable, so I divorced Victoria's father that same year.
Then there's me......a 44 year old cancer survivor, diabetic, and mother extrodinairre...(yeah, seriously I don't think that highly of myself, really!!!).....I work full time, enjoy scrapbooking, tending to my menagerie of pets and stalking the Disboards..
Finally, there is my husband Peter.......
As a little background here--- I had a pretty bad first marriage and I definitely was NEVER, EVER going to get married again or ever let anyone have control over me and my life again. I had dated, but nothing too serious as my first priority was and is Victoria. I was certainly not going to bring someone into our lives who I had no intention of remaining with. Then I met Peter.......yes, online.......Now I know what you all must be thinking ----ewwww! And I really didn't think anything would come out of it either. But, here I am. He's from the same type of French Catholic background as I am and we have so many things in common. He actually does the same type of work that my Dad did. (My Dad passed away in 2002). He's really an amazing man and he's taken to Victoria like she was his own child. Victoria loves him, too.
Other family members not going on the trip are our yellow lab, 3 cats, 5 mini-lop bunnies, 3 teddy bear hamsters, and 2 guinea pigs. I am a huge animal lover, if you couldn't tell. Usually when we go to Disney the dog goes to the kennel and my wonderful Mom comes over to tend to everyone else.
About our trip: We had booked the bounceback offer when we were there in 2011. The offer was Free Dining, so yeah, we jumped on it! Last year we stayed at POFQ and really loved it, so we booked that again. Then I got to reading the boards and more about the Carribean Beach Resort. I really wanted to see what that was like, so I changed the reservation. Also, we had originally planned to go in September due to the low crowds, but since Victoria will be a high school freshman this year, she didn't want to miss any school. After talking it all out, we have decided on August 17th through the 28th. Hopefully it will be low crowds and tolerable as far as the heat goes. I've been reading the boards and the census seems to be that there will be low crowds and it will be hot but tolerable. Whew!!!!
So, let's start with the cast of characters.....
I hope you all don't mind, but I'm going to copy and paste the introductions from my prior report. I mean, our backstory doesn't change from year to year, right? So, for those of you who know me and my family, you can skip this part, unless you are a glutton for punishment...
My DD 14 Victoria......
She and I have been the 2 peas in a pod since I divorced her father when she was 4. It's been she and I against the world since then. She's not as much as a Disney fanatic as I am but I'll get her there!!! hee, hee. She's had her share of trials so far in her 14 years so I tend to spoil her and try to "make up for it". She was born with infant torticollis which basically means her head and neck muscles didn't develop as they should have while I was pregnant. She wore a head cast for 6 months to shape her head properly and had physical therapy for the first 2 years of her life. When she was 5, we discovered she had a tethered spinal cord which required surgery to fix. Her tethered spinal cord made potty training extremely difficult (as she didn't feel when she had to go) and it has caused recurring UTI's which have continued to this day. She does she a Pediatric Nephrologist in Portland, Maine so we are working on it. After her surgery she had an additional 2 years of physical therapy. She's doing great, though, even though she will never be great at team sports or any activity that requires lots of balance. It was also around the time she was 5 when my dad, her beloved Pepere passed away of a massive heart attack. That prompted me to realize that life is too short to be miserable, so I divorced Victoria's father that same year.
Then there's me......a 44 year old cancer survivor, diabetic, and mother extrodinairre...(yeah, seriously I don't think that highly of myself, really!!!).....I work full time, enjoy scrapbooking, tending to my menagerie of pets and stalking the Disboards..
Finally, there is my husband Peter.......
As a little background here--- I had a pretty bad first marriage and I definitely was NEVER, EVER going to get married again or ever let anyone have control over me and my life again. I had dated, but nothing too serious as my first priority was and is Victoria. I was certainly not going to bring someone into our lives who I had no intention of remaining with. Then I met Peter.......yes, online.......Now I know what you all must be thinking ----ewwww! And I really didn't think anything would come out of it either. But, here I am. He's from the same type of French Catholic background as I am and we have so many things in common. He actually does the same type of work that my Dad did. (My Dad passed away in 2002). He's really an amazing man and he's taken to Victoria like she was his own child. Victoria loves him, too.
Other family members not going on the trip are our yellow lab, 3 cats, 5 mini-lop bunnies, 3 teddy bear hamsters, and 2 guinea pigs. I am a huge animal lover, if you couldn't tell. Usually when we go to Disney the dog goes to the kennel and my wonderful Mom comes over to tend to everyone else.
About our trip: We had booked the bounceback offer when we were there in 2011. The offer was Free Dining, so yeah, we jumped on it! Last year we stayed at POFQ and really loved it, so we booked that again. Then I got to reading the boards and more about the Carribean Beach Resort. I really wanted to see what that was like, so I changed the reservation. Also, we had originally planned to go in September due to the low crowds, but since Victoria will be a high school freshman this year, she didn't want to miss any school. After talking it all out, we have decided on August 17th through the 28th. Hopefully it will be low crowds and tolerable as far as the heat goes. I've been reading the boards and the census seems to be that there will be low crowds and it will be hot but tolerable. Whew!!!!
Im so happy for you that you got that nice bounceback offer! I cant wait to hear more plans! Oh, and I am just now commenting because I had to be first to join your PTR! Ive never been first before, so I had to join first and read later! 
Yes, I'm obsessed! Victoria tends to try to run away from the photographers now. 
.
Rarw!!! 
OMG!!! They are Freaking Expensive!!! I check the flights every day and I haven't been finding anything less than $290 per person and that doesn't include taxes, fees, etc. So, it would be almost $1,000 for the flights alone. I just don't want to pay that! I was comiserating on the Transportation Board and one member stated he applied and got approved for the Southwest Visa card. You would get 25,000 points with your first purchase and earn points per dollars spent. Well, I had never dealt with the reward points before so, planner that I am, had to do some research on them. I already had a Rapid Rewards account with 1,700 points in it from when we flew SW last year. A one way flight for one person is about 7500 points currently to Orlando from NH. With the 25,000 points we will get, all of us would be able to fly one way for free!! 
Granted, it will probably take a while for earn flights for next year, but hey....I'm trying to get this year taken care of! So, I'm just waiting on the card right now to make our flight purchases. I HATE WAITING!! We will purchase the one way flights right away and then I guess we have to wait one billing cycle before the points will be added. So, if everything goes as planned, I should be able to purchase the return tickets by the end of May. Cross your fingers for us! Another thing that we are planning to do is go NON-STOP!!! I've never done this before, either! That should be interesting and convenient! I didn't plan on this, it's just how the flights are working out. Of course this could change as I don't have the tickets yet, but I think this is so cool! 3 hours and we are there! Unreal! 
I really think I've turned Peter into a traveller and most importantly, a Disney addict! He can't wait to go! Hee Hee!! All part of my evil plan! 
I usually have a backpack in Disney but I found last year that I felt like a pack mule and my back would be all sweaty from having it on me. Ugh! And I could never get it stuffed properly in the little compartment that most of the rides have. Due to all those reasons, this is what I'm going to be carrying around in the parks this time! What do you all think? 
Other than that, it is a good deal because youre right that the individual photos add up to WAY more than the cost of the PhotoPass+. Youre also right that Disney seems to be on to the whole share thing and that they are trying to discourage that. I hope your share group goes for it. The main thing that stands out to me is that there is only one official card for the PhotoPass+ and that poses a problem not only for shares, but also for large families/groups. I can see problems arising if a few people separate from the group and go on rides that can use this program, but they cant get pictures of themselves on the ride because they dont have that main card. Also, what will Disney do if there is a lost official card? Will they make a second official card? (Hey, that might be the workaround with share groups! 
) ALSO, what is the deal with them limiting it to a 14 day window of taking pictures? That is definitely directed at discouraging share groups. Well, Disney keeps doing things that we dont always like, but we keep coming back 
I am so glad we decided to go this route. 
I just went over and subscribed to your tr but considering how many pages you have, I might need the whole month to read it all. I'm getting so excited to stay at CBR. I will definitely go through your report and look at the pics. I hope you enjoy the ptr.....I gotta warn you, you may get bored. 
You know what's funny? I think I had previously found your pics and saved them. Do you ever post to the Photo of the Day threads? I have only started your tr, but you have the most adorable family. I can't wait to read more! Oh, and I'm definitely copying your shortcuts and path maps to help us navigate. 
