Greetings fellow DISers! After lurking on these boards for awhile and enjoying everyones trip reports, I have decided to go ahead and start my first ever pre-trippie! Im sure I wont be near as entertaining as some of the veterans, but I hope you will enjoy it just the same.
First, let me start with a little history. When I was growing up, my family didnt really do big family vacations. We would go camping or maybe check out a nearby amusement park, but that was about it. So, my first trip to WDW was back in December 1988 when I went with my high school band. We were performing at the pre-show for the Gator Bowl that year and got to spend 2 days at Disney 1 at MK; 1 at Epcot. I really dont remember much about the parks from that first trip mainly because the rest of trip was very memorable and not in a good way!! We had issues with buses not being on time (tour buses, not WDW buses) and breaking down (spent one night in a McDonalds somewhere in Tennessee waiting on a replacement
) and one of the chaperones had the flu 
and proceeded to pass it along to just about everyone she came in contact with! As a result, we spent the evening of our Epcot day sitting at the buses in the parking lot waiting for approximately 15 people to return from the hospital after being treated for severe dehydration! So, you can see why I dont remember the parks too much!
My next trip came in March of 1996. A friend of mine from high school was in the college program and I had a couple of other friends who were living in St. Pete at the time, so I decided that was a good enough excuse for a visit. We spent three nights at the Dolphin. This was my first experience really being immersed in the Disney culture especially since I spent most of the time with CMs in the college program. The coolest part of this trip was going with my friend to pick up her paycheck in the maze that is administration under MK! I doubt I wouldve been allowed there had we asked for permission, but we didnt and no one asked any questions. She even took me by the costume room we didnt go in, but we did see Beast pulling his head on a little wagon
.
Fast forward to October 2000. My friend the former CM decided we all should go to Orlando to visit WDW and USF for Halloween. Now, I should tell you that I am not really fond of haunted houses, scary movies or most things associated with Halloween people in scary masks really freak me out
. But I thought Hey, how bad can it be? This is Disney, right? That was until everyone else voted to go to the Halloween party at USF instead of MNSSHP. Needless, to say I spent Halloween night sitting on a bench in front of the Monster Café at USF with my back to a wall so no one could sneak up on me while my friends enjoyed the haunted houses, mazes and other events 
. With the exception of that night, it was a great trip! We stayed in the mansions at Dixie Landings (now POR) and loved it!
By this time, I was quickly becoming a Disney fanatic and couldnt wait to start planning another trip. So, I decided to spoil my oldest DNi and DNe some and planned a trip with them for September 2001. The kids were 10 and 11 respectively and were really excited about the prospect of missing a week of school. I didnt tell them our destination until the night before we arrived. Neither of them had ever been to WDW before so it was a great surprise. We spent 8 glorious days at POFQ and had a wonderful time! And we tested out the lifeguard response time at BB, too! DNi was playing in the wave pool and somehow managed to scrape her face across the bottom of the pool. I was just a few feet away, but before I could get to her to see what happened, one of the lifeguards was there pressing a towel to her face. We were quickly whisked over to the first aid station where DNi was checked out (just superficial scrapes to her upper lip and chin I have no idea how her nose came out unscathed
) and bandaged up. The bottom half of her face was pretty well mummified we laugh about it now but luckily her skin and the band aids were almost the same color, so it wasnt too noticeable 
. And I have to give props to the lifeguard who responded so quickly 
. Even though DNi wasnt hurt badly, it was comforting to see that they wouldve been there if she had been.
Due to college and grad school and the costs associated with them, I didnt make it back to WDW again until December 2005. This was a quick weekend trip with my friend the former CM to visit another CM for her birthday. This trip was spent at AKL in a savannah view room
. We flew in on a Friday, arriving just in time for her b-day party 
, spent a few hours at MGM, Epcot and MK each day, then headed home on Monday morning. It was just a quick trip (and absolutely freezing all weekend 
), but it was Disney so I cant complain.
Up next: September 2006 Trip (the excuse for our September 2007 Trip!)
First, let me start with a little history. When I was growing up, my family didnt really do big family vacations. We would go camping or maybe check out a nearby amusement park, but that was about it. So, my first trip to WDW was back in December 1988 when I went with my high school band. We were performing at the pre-show for the Gator Bowl that year and got to spend 2 days at Disney 1 at MK; 1 at Epcot. I really dont remember much about the parks from that first trip mainly because the rest of trip was very memorable and not in a good way!! We had issues with buses not being on time (tour buses, not WDW buses) and breaking down (spent one night in a McDonalds somewhere in Tennessee waiting on a replacement
) and one of the chaperones had the flu and proceeded to pass it along to just about everyone she came in contact with! As a result, we spent the evening of our Epcot day sitting at the buses in the parking lot waiting for approximately 15 people to return from the hospital after being treated for severe dehydration! So, you can see why I dont remember the parks too much!My next trip came in March of 1996. A friend of mine from high school was in the college program and I had a couple of other friends who were living in St. Pete at the time, so I decided that was a good enough excuse for a visit. We spent three nights at the Dolphin. This was my first experience really being immersed in the Disney culture especially since I spent most of the time with CMs in the college program. The coolest part of this trip was going with my friend to pick up her paycheck in the maze that is administration under MK! I doubt I wouldve been allowed there had we asked for permission, but we didnt and no one asked any questions. She even took me by the costume room we didnt go in, but we did see Beast pulling his head on a little wagon
.Fast forward to October 2000. My friend the former CM decided we all should go to Orlando to visit WDW and USF for Halloween. Now, I should tell you that I am not really fond of haunted houses, scary movies or most things associated with Halloween people in scary masks really freak me out
. But I thought Hey, how bad can it be? This is Disney, right? That was until everyone else voted to go to the Halloween party at USF instead of MNSSHP. Needless, to say I spent Halloween night sitting on a bench in front of the Monster Café at USF with my back to a wall so no one could sneak up on me while my friends enjoyed the haunted houses, mazes and other events . With the exception of that night, it was a great trip! We stayed in the mansions at Dixie Landings (now POR) and loved it! By this time, I was quickly becoming a Disney fanatic and couldnt wait to start planning another trip. So, I decided to spoil my oldest DNi and DNe some and planned a trip with them for September 2001. The kids were 10 and 11 respectively and were really excited about the prospect of missing a week of school. I didnt tell them our destination until the night before we arrived. Neither of them had ever been to WDW before so it was a great surprise. We spent 8 glorious days at POFQ and had a wonderful time! And we tested out the lifeguard response time at BB, too! DNi was playing in the wave pool and somehow managed to scrape her face across the bottom of the pool. I was just a few feet away, but before I could get to her to see what happened, one of the lifeguards was there pressing a towel to her face. We were quickly whisked over to the first aid station where DNi was checked out (just superficial scrapes to her upper lip and chin I have no idea how her nose came out unscathed
) and bandaged up. The bottom half of her face was pretty well mummified we laugh about it now but luckily her skin and the band aids were almost the same color, so it wasnt too noticeable . And I have to give props to the lifeguard who responded so quickly . Even though DNi wasnt hurt badly, it was comforting to see that they wouldve been there if she had been.Due to college and grad school and the costs associated with them, I didnt make it back to WDW again until December 2005. This was a quick weekend trip with my friend the former CM to visit another CM for her birthday. This trip was spent at AKL in a savannah view room
. We flew in on a Friday, arriving just in time for her b-day party , spent a few hours at MGM, Epcot and MK each day, then headed home on Monday morning. It was just a quick trip (and absolutely freezing all weekend ), but it was Disney so I cant complain. Up next: September 2006 Trip (the excuse for our September 2007 Trip!)
. 
. One of the drugs that DNi was on was prednisone -- a steriod. Like most steriod treatments, weight gain and mood swings are a side affect. Since I live 700 miles from DNi, I did not see her between the time she started treatment and the day we left for WDW. Somewhere in that time, my sweet, little, 60 pound princess turned into a moody, 100 pound monster
) when Free Dining was announced. So, I started thinking -- DNi2 really didn't get the "full" Disney experience last year and she IS doing much better now. Even though she still has remicade treatments every 6-8 weeks and is not yet in remission, her meds are pretty well regulated and she's off the prednisone. Money is kinda tight, but I do have a couple of commission checks coming in and free dining would save a lot. And if we'd stay at a value 
. 
