Somefunmum
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2004
- Messages
- 111
The players:
Me: somefunmum, 37, finally living my dream
DH: Gator king, 43, loves gators, Disney, the ocean and all things Florida, the perfect companion (weve been married for 16 years)
DD#1: Julia the birthday girl, will turn 10 on this trip, loves horses
DD#2: Sarah (aka Scarah) isnt too sure about Disney, is terrified of Chuck E Cheese
Pre-planning and a little history:
I always watched the Disney programming on Sunday nights as a child. Tinkerbell would fly over the castle, spread her pixie dust and with a touch of her wand, the programming would start. Usually something like Tom Sawyer or Herbie the Love Bug. My Aunt Doreen bought me the Disney double album one year for Christmas and I memorized every single song. It included all of what would now be called Classic Disney theme music. Mary Poppins, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Snow White, all of them up to 1975.
Lots of the kids at school went to Walt Disney World on vacation. They came home with unbelievable stories about Space Mountain and The Haunted Mansion. I was totally hooked. My parents often talked about going but it never happened. They had 4 children over 16 years and the timing just never worked out. My Catholic mother will tell you that the rhythm method works, you only have a baby every 5 to 7 years.
My DH was lucky enough to have been to WDW more than once and he took me there in 1990. It didnt matter one bit that I hadnt been there before I turned 21. I loved every minute of our 16 hour commando Disney tour. Even though my heals were bleeding at the end of the day and we never even made it to Epcot. It was everything that Id every dreamed it would be and I knew that I would take our children there someday.
My history has everything to do with what brought me to the DIS boards. Once my DH and I decided that we were going, we bought the obligatory planning guides and started surfing the net for every bit of helpful information that would ensure that we wouldnt miss a single thing. We booked our room at the Grand Floridian. We got park-hopper tickets and we started planning like our lives depended on it. This was to be our family trip of a lifetime.
What I learned from the DIS:
I started off just lurking and reading everything that I could find on the planning boards. Eventually I found my way to the Trip Reports boards and I read all of the most recent reports thinking that they were the ones that would give me the most useful information about attraction renovations and strategies. Little by little I began reading older reports, then every report that I could get my hands on. It became an addiction. I stopped reading books and newspapers. For weeks I only read trip reports. I found links to The Best trip reports and read those. I couldnt wait for the next instalments from my favourite authors. I began wondering why no one had published these beautiful novellas. And I learned some things along the way.
1. This is your vacation so treat it like one. 2 exhausted children + 2 parents at their wits end = ..well it doesnt equal a vacation. Take your time. Dont try to see everything. This leads us to #2.
2. Imagine another Disney vacation. Even if its only for your peace of mind while your planning your first one. Say well save that for the next trip like a mantra.
3. Stay onsite if you possibly can. A break during the busiest time of the day will preserve your sanity and make your visit more like a vacation (see #1).
4. If your children are pale, glassy-eyed and covered in the remnants of various Mickey Mouse ice cream treats, its time to head back to your hotel. This is a hard lesson to learn when it is the only night during your stay that Spectromagic is offered.
Me: somefunmum, 37, finally living my dream
DH: Gator king, 43, loves gators, Disney, the ocean and all things Florida, the perfect companion (weve been married for 16 years)
DD#1: Julia the birthday girl, will turn 10 on this trip, loves horses
DD#2: Sarah (aka Scarah) isnt too sure about Disney, is terrified of Chuck E Cheese
Pre-planning and a little history:
I always watched the Disney programming on Sunday nights as a child. Tinkerbell would fly over the castle, spread her pixie dust and with a touch of her wand, the programming would start. Usually something like Tom Sawyer or Herbie the Love Bug. My Aunt Doreen bought me the Disney double album one year for Christmas and I memorized every single song. It included all of what would now be called Classic Disney theme music. Mary Poppins, Pinocchio, Cinderella, Snow White, all of them up to 1975.
Lots of the kids at school went to Walt Disney World on vacation. They came home with unbelievable stories about Space Mountain and The Haunted Mansion. I was totally hooked. My parents often talked about going but it never happened. They had 4 children over 16 years and the timing just never worked out. My Catholic mother will tell you that the rhythm method works, you only have a baby every 5 to 7 years.
My DH was lucky enough to have been to WDW more than once and he took me there in 1990. It didnt matter one bit that I hadnt been there before I turned 21. I loved every minute of our 16 hour commando Disney tour. Even though my heals were bleeding at the end of the day and we never even made it to Epcot. It was everything that Id every dreamed it would be and I knew that I would take our children there someday.
My history has everything to do with what brought me to the DIS boards. Once my DH and I decided that we were going, we bought the obligatory planning guides and started surfing the net for every bit of helpful information that would ensure that we wouldnt miss a single thing. We booked our room at the Grand Floridian. We got park-hopper tickets and we started planning like our lives depended on it. This was to be our family trip of a lifetime.
What I learned from the DIS:
I started off just lurking and reading everything that I could find on the planning boards. Eventually I found my way to the Trip Reports boards and I read all of the most recent reports thinking that they were the ones that would give me the most useful information about attraction renovations and strategies. Little by little I began reading older reports, then every report that I could get my hands on. It became an addiction. I stopped reading books and newspapers. For weeks I only read trip reports. I found links to The Best trip reports and read those. I couldnt wait for the next instalments from my favourite authors. I began wondering why no one had published these beautiful novellas. And I learned some things along the way.
1. This is your vacation so treat it like one. 2 exhausted children + 2 parents at their wits end = ..well it doesnt equal a vacation. Take your time. Dont try to see everything. This leads us to #2.
2. Imagine another Disney vacation. Even if its only for your peace of mind while your planning your first one. Say well save that for the next trip like a mantra.
3. Stay onsite if you possibly can. A break during the busiest time of the day will preserve your sanity and make your visit more like a vacation (see #1).
4. If your children are pale, glassy-eyed and covered in the remnants of various Mickey Mouse ice cream treats, its time to head back to your hotel. This is a hard lesson to learn when it is the only night during your stay that Spectromagic is offered.
