She's Making a June Trip, a June 2023 PTR (Updated 4/17)

GrandCalifornian

Can't Wait To Go Back
Joined
Mar 16, 2012
Hello everybody! After right at a year away from WDW, we have our eleventh family trip to the world planned and we'll be back in 125 days!

We have had the wildest year on record and we are so much looking forward to this trip.

In our time away from Disney in the last year we made a couple of fun trips, one to Oahu where we visited Aulani, and one to southern Utah. We even did trip reports for those which you can check out while patiently waiting for our new one.


Yeah, we knew it might be a bit before we got to go back to WDW, but now it is booked and we are looking forward to returning to our beloved Wilderness Lodge.
p4127490140-4.jpg


We've been keeping busy with work as well during the last year, which I'm sure we'll mention, but first let's get started with introductions for anyone who might be new here, and to bring everyone up to speed with who we are.


For this trip we’re going to be unsupervised! Only the four of us are going.

I'm Paul, a Disney Dad and now 43 year old elevator mechanic, car guy, engineer, and taker of way too many pictures.
p1442902981-4.jpg


My favorite park is Epcot, my favorite Disney character is Mater, and my favorite place anywhere is Wilderness Lodge. (Although I do have a new found and unexpected fondness for Hawaii...)


It’s true after years of trying to convince him to go to Hawaii now HE wants to plan a trip to go back. I’m Melissa, mom to our two kiddos, four dogs, seven chickens and a rabbit.
p1442889283-4.jpg


(We added to the crazy this year), at least the chickens are earning their keep now. This lady is looking forward to some good Disney time and I can’t wait to sit on a bench in the Magic Kingdom and watch the world go by.


Yes, we have quite the cast of characters at home, but they keep life interesting. For work, we both now work for the elevator business that Melissa's grandparents started in 1984. We maintain and repair elevators all over Southern California, but that means we have a little bit harder time taking long vacations away from the business.
p1442902929-4.jpg


Because of that, this trip will be only 5 nights, but we are going to make the most of it.


This is Allison, the “She” in all of our report titles.
p1442889562-4.jpg


The world used to revolve around her but it hasn’t in a while even though she wishes it did. We cannot believe she’s officially a teenager now and in MIDDLE SCHOOL! Friends, time just keeps marching on and she just keeps growing up.


Since Allie is busy with doing well in Middle School, she was less enthusiastic about taking a week off away from class, so we decided to go to WDW in June after school is out for the year. Like everyone else, we will be there after school is out. This isn't a totally new time of year for us to visit though, since our first WDW trip together was in June for our honeymoon. We'll get to celebrate our 16th anniversary there during this trip.

It’s exciting to be there over our anniversary! It’s going to be hot, and crowded but I guarantee we’ll be the only ones in our room so at least there’s that. We’re pretty good at going with the flow anyway.

This guy is Marshall! He’s seven now and in first grade.
p1442889434-2.jpg


He is full of energy and curiosity about the world. He loves documentaries and a good podcast. We are homeschooling him and he’s really enjoying our current unit on Ancient Egypt. He’s looking forward to checking out the Lego store and riding all of the transportation vehicles Disney has to offer.


Marshall is growing up so fast, and is a neat little buddy. He loves anything that goes, and especially making things that go with Legos.

And that’s it guys, it’s just us.

For the first time in a LONG time.


Grandma Nancy and Grandpa Jim, my parents who have joined us in the past were just at WDW for their 50th anniversary in December.
p1445150453-4.jpg


They will be followng along from home this time.

Jon and Brandy, our good friends who have joined us for the most recent trips, are actually in WDW right now on an 8 day trip.
p3839397013-4.jpg


They prefer the cooler weather and lower crowd levels, and we may agree after this trip, but we are going to give it a shot.


We are jealous that they are there for the Festival of the Arts. They’ve been sending pictures though. Allie and I are really looking forward to introducing the boys to the Flower and Garden Festival though. The flowers and the topiaries are so pretty and we really enjoyed it during our May girls trip a couple of years ago.
p1442889423-4.jpg

p1442889036-2.jpg


It will be a new festival for us!
p1442888799-4.jpg


I'm sure we'll still find plenty of food and art though too.


I’m sure we’ll find plenty of fun things to see and do, and bring home.

But before all that, we've got some planning to share and now a fresh new trip report to do it in. We hope you enjoy planning along with us for a few months, leading up to another epic trip report once we get back.
 
Last edited:
Table of Contents
Introduction
Trip Dates and Airfare
Traveling Light for the First Time
ADR Planning and Park Tickets
Jeep Rental Consideration
Real Life Transportation Update
Rental Car Booking
ADR Day
Anniversary Treat and Magic Band+
Single Digit Day!


Prior Reports:
She's free before she's three, touring the world with a toddler: September 2012 Trip Report
She turned 3, but the DDP's Free, a WL Bounceback PTR: September 2013
She's a Princess, a Superhero, and a Rockstar -a September 2013 Trip Report
She's Turning Five at Disney World - a September 2014 PTR
She's Five at Riverside - September 2014 Trip Report
She's Going to Show Him The World - September 2016 PTR
She's a Big Sister and an Expedition Leader: A September 2016 TR
She's Sleeping on the Top Bunk: An August 2017 WL TR with a Party of 10
She's Staying DVC, a September 2018 PTR
She's On Top of The World, a September 2018 TR at Copper Creek Villas and Cabins
She's Going Back to Back, a September 2019 and February 2020 PTR
She Dodged a Hurricane, Skipped School, and Adopted a Porg, A September 2019 TR
She's a Disney Adult and Feeling Artsy, a February 2020 TR
She's Masking Up and Taking on The World, a Jan 2021 PTR
She's Collecting Castles and Staying at Copper Creek, a Jan 2021 TR
She's Surprised to be back to Disney World, a May 2021 Yacht Club Girl's Trip
She's Adding all the Extras, a January 2022 BCV / WL Split Stay Trip Report
She's Saying Aloha, an April 2022 Oahu and Aulani Trip Report
She's Camping at Coral Pink, a Summer 2022 Utah Camping Trip Report
 
Last edited:


I can't wait to read all about your upcoming June trip. :)

We are going to WDW this Sunday, staying at POR. The weather in Florida has been great, unlike the really cold weather you experienced during your last two winter trips. At least you are guaranteed warm weather in June. :)
 


Welcome back! You're first, thanks for coming.

Following along and looking forward to your plans 😊
Welcome and thanks. We've made some plans this week so we have material to write about.

Following along!
Welcome, and thanks for joining in.

Following!
Thanks, we're glad you chose to follow along.

I can't wait to read all about your upcoming June trip. :)
Hello there, we're glad to have you join us again. We are really looking forward to this trip, and with fewer people we should be able to pack a lot of fun in.

We are going to WDW this Sunday, staying at POR. The weather in Florida has been great, unlike the really cold weather you experienced during your last two winter trips. At least you are guaranteed warm weather in June. :)
Congratulations! We still love POR. The weather should be great, and it sounds like it has been pretty nice this week based on reports from Jon and Brandy. I like the winter trips, but heat and Disney just go together, so we're up for it.

Very exciting, can't wait to read!!!!!
Thanks, we'll post planning stuff as we can, but we're already looking forward to writing the report.

Following!
Welcome back and thanks for joining in.

Is there a link to your Hawaii and Utah TR's?
Yes there are:
Here is the Utah one: https://www.disboards.com/threads/s...ummer-2022-southern-utah-trip-report.3894486/
Here is the Hawaii one: https://www.disboards.com/threads/s...and-aulani-trip-report-completed-7-7.3882797/
I would love to read your Utah TR! So excited to follow along for this summer spectacular!
It is shorter than most, but it shows something totally different. I added the link above now.

Joining in!
Hello there, welcome back and thanks for popping in!
 
I'm so happy to have another one of your Disney trips to follow along with! We most often travel during Flower & Garden, but we're taking an adults-only trip this month. It'll be our first trip during Festival of the Arts. (We're also taking the kids to Disneyland this summer, which will be a first for all of us.) Middle school really does make it tricky to travel during the most ideal times.
 
Who’s taking care of your chickens? Also, I can’t believe it’s just the four of you- you always travel in a pack!
We have a friend scheduled to come stay at the house. She is our Corgi breeder, so she can handle all the animals. It is rare that we have just our immediate family on a WDW trip. The last time was during Allie's second trip, which was before Marshall. They had so much fun with just the two of them on the surprise trip and were able to be so efficient that we are looking forward to being able to make quick decisions and fit in lots of fun. We also couldn't find any of our regular friends willing to deal with the heat and crowds of June, so there's that...

I'm so happy to have another one of your Disney trips to follow along with! We most often travel during Flower & Garden, but we're taking an adults-only trip this month. It'll be our first trip during Festival of the Arts. (We're also taking the kids to Disneyland this summer, which will be a first for all of us.) Middle school really does make it tricky to travel during the most ideal times.
Aww, we're glad that you enjoy following along. Your Adults trip for Festival of the Arts should be great. It is our favorite festival, but Allie does really love Flower and Garden too, and Food and Wine is special too.

Disneyland is neat, and something similar yet strangely different than WDW. We always talk about how MK felt strange to us because things are in different places than at DL. It takes some getting used to, and it is definitely smaller, but they do a lot with less space. DCA is an awesome unique park, with hints of HS and Epcot in a different combination.
With that being said, we live only about an hour away and haven't been in about 6 years. It isn't because we don't want to, but as passes or tickets got more expensive we gravitated towards WDW. It will be a neat experience for you all though, and we can't wait to hear about it.

What a great start. Looking forward to reading about more of your plans. :)
We have lots of good stuff coming together and will share more soon.

I’m in! did you go to moonlight magic on Wednesday at dca?
Welcome back. We did not go to Moonlight Magic, as it was long sold out by the time we checked on it. It would be great to go back to, and a Moonlight Magic night was the last time we were in a park at DL, but that was way too long ago.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top