Should I go?

CamoMama

DIS Veteran
Joined
Dec 21, 2011
Messages
1,216
Okay, so I mentioned this in the Carsland thread, but I really am not sure whether I should do it. I went to Disneyland in July 2010 with my parents and kids and had an absolute blast. I got back from Afghanistan in December and took just my kids to WDW in February and also had a blast, but it was a bit stressful trying to make the trip really awesome for the kids.

On 29 June my parents and my sister will be driving down from Seattle with her kids, stopping at my place to spend the night before driving to DLR on the 30th. They'll be in the parks for 5 days, coming back on the 6th. My mom has mentioned that she'd like me to join them if I can swing it. My kids will be visiting their dad's family and I probably can make the finances work. I know Carsland will have just opened and it may be a madhouse down there, but I won't have to keep up with my kids, and my sister can handle her own. Do I say screw it and go? Will my kids ever forgive me for going without them? Will I have a great time on my own if I ditch the family for a day or so? Will the crowd levels make it impossible to get on Space Mountain?

I'm taking my oldest to either NYC or DLR in October (mom and daughter birthday trip, she can't make up her mind yet), and youngest to WDW next March. Will I overload myself on Disney? Is that possible?
 
I'd go if I could afford it. If your kids are elsewhere, and are getting other treats later in the year maybe you deserve some ME-time.
 
I thought about the 3 day ticket. They got their tickets from ITR at Everett Naval Base, I'm not that far from Travis AFB, or I could have them swing by the base again to get mine. I dunno if I could be happy with just 3 days though. Knowing me I'd just buy another 2 days after we arrived at face value. I have a few months to think about it. Will 4th of July be ridiculous? July wasn't bad in 2010, but it was late July, not near a holiday and Carsland hadn't just opened.
 

I don't want to go out on too much of a limb with crowd predictions because I'm just not the expert with that. I honestly feel it's going to be REALLLLLY crowded with regular summer crowds PLUS Carsland crowds, but I also don't want to scare a Disney fan away from a trip!

All I wanted to say is that if you change your mind and do want to buy the $99 3-day military tickets, you can do so at the gates - you don't have to go to a military base. That's all :)

I also wanted to say welcome home! My husband is in the 'stan right now and if your tour was anything like his is currently, you definitely deserve some time for yourself!
 
I have 6 tours thru Afstan and many other pleaces. Please go and enjoy yourself. Thank you for serving our country.

Jack
 
I don't want to go out on too much of a limb with crowd predictions because I'm just not the expert with that. I honestly feel it's going to be REALLLLLY crowded with regular summer crowds PLUS Carsland crowds, but I also don't want to scare a Disney fan away from a trip!

All I wanted to say is that if you change your mind and do want to buy the $99 3-day military tickets, you can do so at the gates - you don't have to go to a military base. That's all :)

I also wanted to say welcome home! My husband is in the 'stan right now and if your tour was anything like his is currently, you definitely deserve some time for yourself!

Thank you for your sacrifice. If not for the families back home I know many guys would have a lot harder time over there. And yeah, it was no picnic. Do you know where he's at? I was at FOB Orgun-E in East Paktika with the 101st for most of the year, but did some moving around the province. I have some friends who are getting ready to head over now, gonna miss them terribly.

Thanks for the heads up about buying tickets at the gates, when we went before we got them from ITR and at WDW you have to buy them at ITR or Shades of Green.

I just got an e-mail from ITR with prices (in response to an inquiry for our possible NYC trip in October) for everything that they have to offer. Awesome!
 
I have 6 tours thru Afstan and many other pleaces. Please go and enjoy yourself. Thank you for serving our country.

Jack

Thank you! After being there once I have decided that I don't want to do it again. I can't imagine 6 tours! If you're ever in DCA at any time when I am I'd like to buy you a beer. Or a few beers :)
 
Thank you for your sacrifice. If not for the families back home I know many guys would have a lot harder time over there. And yeah, it was no picnic. Do you know where he's at? I was at FOB Orgun-E in East Paktika with the 101st for most of the year, but did some moving around the province. I have some friends who are getting ready to head over now, gonna miss them terribly.

Sorry to hear they are shipping off. Unfortunately I have no clue where he is currently lol. My DH is a poster child for OPSEC lol. He is supposed to come home sometime between now and mid-April but all he will tell me is that he'll call once stateside. I have a mailing address for him but it has no identifiers so I'm not sure where he is, just that it's cold lol!!
 
Glad to hear that he's coming home soon. OPSEC is so important; we had to police facebook while we were there, somehow Soldiers just don't get it through their heads, even with the millions of briefings we go through. I was surprised that the biggest OPSEC violation while we were there came from an active duty Soldier (we're National Guard), it made a bit of a mess with his command, thankfully no real intel got out though.

I drove my whole unit nuts all year with our WDW trip. I started planning it almost as soon as we got on ground in Paktika. We had a countdown on our headquarters board near the end: Days until ADVON flies; Days until main body flies; Days until Disney World. A couple of weeks out I got in trouble if I didn't update them all first thing in the morning!I also became the go-to vacation planner for all the guys who wanted to take their families on trips when we got back. It made the time pass quickly when missions weren't going on constantly.
 
Glad to hear that he's coming home soon. OPSEC is so important; we had to police facebook while we were there, somehow Soldiers just don't get it through their heads, even with the millions of briefings we go through. I was surprised that the biggest OPSEC violation while we were there came from an active duty Soldier (we're National Guard), it made a bit of a mess with his command, thankfully no real intel got out though.

I drove my whole unit nuts all year with our WDW trip. I started planning it almost as soon as we got on ground in Paktika. We had a countdown on our headquarters board near the end: Days until ADVON flies; Days until main body flies; Days until Disney World. A couple of weeks out I got in trouble if I didn't update them all first thing in the morning!I also became the go-to vacation planner for all the guys who wanted to take their families on trips when we got back. It made the time pass quickly when missions weren't going on constantly.

Thanks for the offer, was going to ask if you are Guard, I spent most of my time as an advisor when the mujahideen were fighting the Reds. Take care.

Jack
 
OP I would go....but with that many trips in the works I suggest getting an AP! If you are near TAFB (10 minutes from my front door to the main gate) then you should qualify for the monthly payment plan. Get yourself a Premium AP and GO!!!! Enjoy yourself, have fun at the parks and even if the kids get mad you deserve some time for you. They will get over it. :) I've gone without my kids, it's been just fine. :)
 
I've been considering an AP, too. I think I'm going to do it. My niece (a different sister's kid) just facebooked me and said she's going too. She and I can share a room and that lowers the cost for both of us. I'm about two hours north of Fairfield, but can always stop there on the way south to pick up the AP. I'm not sure where TAB hides their ITR, but I'm sure I can find out with a quickness. I used to drill at the 49th MP BN right outside of main gate, so I'm pretty familiar with the area.
 
YAY!!!! Have fun!!!! I'm in Suisun, which is the sister city to Fairfield, you probably come down AirBase Parkway from 80, if so I'm right off Walters which is pretty close to the front gate. :) I've got plenty of friends in the military so if you need help finding ITR let me know, pretty sure I can get that help for ya! :)
 
Well, I've just finished e-mailing a representative at ITR in Tracey. I'm going to go ahead and splurge on the premium AP sometime between now and June. She sent me the form that I can use to do everything through e-mail without having to drive south! They'll mail the voucher to me as soon as they charge my card. I also called the Disney reservations line, and when we go to Disney World in March I can just upgrade my premium California pass to the Premier Disney Parks pass when we arrive there and will then be able to use it on both coasts. Awesome! Now hopefully nothing gets in the way between now and the end of June to keep me from going.
 




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