Hi everyone! This is my first pre trip report so please be kind 
. I thought I would do a PTR to relieve some Disney anxiety!
Here is a little background about the family. There's me, DH, DD1, and DD2. This is trip number 4 for us a family. DH and I went for our honeymoon many moons ago and DH went a few times growing up. First trip as a family we went in 2011 and stayed at POR. We went with DH's brothers family. I did a lot of research/planning for this trip so when we got to MK and the place was packed I nearly cried! Pretty much 60+ minutes on most rides. End of February, not winter break, every crowd calendar said below average crowds . . . What was going on! The princess half marathon that was what!!! Anyway made the best of the trip and learned a lot!
Second trip 2012, again with BIL family, stayed at POR, went week after the 1/2 princess marathon. The parks were still busier than I expected. I learned although I love POR I hated the bus route! With 4 bus depots, it took at least 20 minutes before we even left the resort!
3rd trip- we were planning the same time and same resort but found out Splash Mountain was being refurbished. It was DD1's favorite ride and she had a breakdown of epic proportion! So after, many phone calls and pulling strings we ended up going end of November into December. So we actually went to WDW 2x that year. Best trip ever! We stayed at ASM. Although not as fancy as POR, the kids loved the theming, and the bus rides weren't nearly as long. Also we found out that this was a much better time of year to go!
This trip, we will be there Nov 9-15. We chose these dates so the kids would only have to miss 3 days of school. We'll be staying at ASM for the first time and won't be going with BIL family for the first time. Although, we always had a good time with them we are looking forward to going without them. But we will be going with my mother and nephew! I'm so super excited to bring my mom! She has never been there and hasn't traveled much in her life. We live states apart so I only get to see her once or twice a year. We never took family vacations growing up because we couldn't afford to. My mom was also diagnosed with cancer when I was 12 and we nearly lost her. She's been in remission for a very long time now. After her battle with cancer, my parents divorced. It was a good thing. I'll just say I haven't spoken to my dad since then. my dad left her with nothing. My mom was a stay at home mom and we aren't from the U.S. so my mom never learned to read or write. But she still managed to get a decent job and make a living. Now she lives with my sister and her family. So after so many struggles, I am over the moon to be able to take her on this trip!! We'll also be bringing my nephew who is 8. It will be his first time too!
My DD1 will also be celebrating a milestone(we'll be celebrating with her). She turns 10 the day we leave! She's very excited to celebrate her birthday week at Disney. I plan on getting her a plain t-shirt and she's going to have every country in Epcot write Happy Birthday in their language on it.
So I am really stressed out about trying to make this trip as good as the last. The crowd levels really make me nervous because although crowd calendars say it's low crowds you can never know for sure. I want to make this the best trip ever for my mom and nephew. I've done all the planning so I feel like all the responsibility is on me. At least in years past, I shared the responsibility with my SIL. Also fastpass+ is throwing a wrench in things. When to reserve rides is giving me grey hair. While I don't mind scheduling things with ADRs, fastpass+ has me scheduling on a whole new level. Do I schedule them all in the morning so we get the opportunity to get more after our 3 are done? Although we have never made it to rope drop(mainly because BIL family likes to sleep in) it isn't out of the question for this trip as we are early risers anyway. Do I plan the fastpasses with the assumption we'll be at rope drop?! Our fastpass+ window opens soon and I need to be ready! I don't want to schedule our vacation like bootcamp! I would actually like to stop and smell the roses this trip. Our previous trips were a little commando style. Any suggestions to make this trip awesome and give me less stress are welcome!!
. I thought I would do a PTR to relieve some Disney anxiety! Here is a little background about the family. There's me, DH, DD1, and DD2. This is trip number 4 for us a family. DH and I went for our honeymoon many moons ago and DH went a few times growing up. First trip as a family we went in 2011 and stayed at POR. We went with DH's brothers family. I did a lot of research/planning for this trip so when we got to MK and the place was packed I nearly cried! Pretty much 60+ minutes on most rides. End of February, not winter break, every crowd calendar said below average crowds . . . What was going on! The princess half marathon that was what!!! Anyway made the best of the trip and learned a lot!
Second trip 2012, again with BIL family, stayed at POR, went week after the 1/2 princess marathon. The parks were still busier than I expected. I learned although I love POR I hated the bus route! With 4 bus depots, it took at least 20 minutes before we even left the resort!
3rd trip- we were planning the same time and same resort but found out Splash Mountain was being refurbished. It was DD1's favorite ride and she had a breakdown of epic proportion! So after, many phone calls and pulling strings we ended up going end of November into December. So we actually went to WDW 2x that year. Best trip ever! We stayed at ASM. Although not as fancy as POR, the kids loved the theming, and the bus rides weren't nearly as long. Also we found out that this was a much better time of year to go!
This trip, we will be there Nov 9-15. We chose these dates so the kids would only have to miss 3 days of school. We'll be staying at ASM for the first time and won't be going with BIL family for the first time. Although, we always had a good time with them we are looking forward to going without them. But we will be going with my mother and nephew! I'm so super excited to bring my mom! She has never been there and hasn't traveled much in her life. We live states apart so I only get to see her once or twice a year. We never took family vacations growing up because we couldn't afford to. My mom was also diagnosed with cancer when I was 12 and we nearly lost her. She's been in remission for a very long time now. After her battle with cancer, my parents divorced. It was a good thing. I'll just say I haven't spoken to my dad since then. my dad left her with nothing. My mom was a stay at home mom and we aren't from the U.S. so my mom never learned to read or write. But she still managed to get a decent job and make a living. Now she lives with my sister and her family. So after so many struggles, I am over the moon to be able to take her on this trip!! We'll also be bringing my nephew who is 8. It will be his first time too!
My DD1 will also be celebrating a milestone(we'll be celebrating with her). She turns 10 the day we leave! She's very excited to celebrate her birthday week at Disney. I plan on getting her a plain t-shirt and she's going to have every country in Epcot write Happy Birthday in their language on it.
So I am really stressed out about trying to make this trip as good as the last. The crowd levels really make me nervous because although crowd calendars say it's low crowds you can never know for sure. I want to make this the best trip ever for my mom and nephew. I've done all the planning so I feel like all the responsibility is on me. At least in years past, I shared the responsibility with my SIL. Also fastpass+ is throwing a wrench in things. When to reserve rides is giving me grey hair. While I don't mind scheduling things with ADRs, fastpass+ has me scheduling on a whole new level. Do I schedule them all in the morning so we get the opportunity to get more after our 3 are done? Although we have never made it to rope drop(mainly because BIL family likes to sleep in) it isn't out of the question for this trip as we are early risers anyway. Do I plan the fastpasses with the assumption we'll be at rope drop?! Our fastpass+ window opens soon and I need to be ready! I don't want to schedule our vacation like bootcamp! I would actually like to stop and smell the roses this trip. Our previous trips were a little commando style. Any suggestions to make this trip awesome and give me less stress are welcome!!
