Spending our 10th Anniversary at Disney!

[AshleeH]

I've never done a pre-trip report before, so I hope I get a learning curve for being a newbie .

Our cast of characters is, as follows:

Me, Ashlee, 30 - Interests include reading anything with a happy ever after (mostly different genres of romance: contemporary, historical, suspense, paranormal, etc. - I'm a serious bookworm), movies, football, going on family walks, and planning future vacations (unsurprisingly, all but one are Disney related - although my husband is in charge of planning the other one). I've been a stay-at-home mom for six years and I could not imagine a better job! I grew up taking sporadic trips to Disney World (culminating with a great spur of the moment trip to Disneyland Paris when I was 15 and we were living in Europe for a semester!). DH and I have been to Disney three times together - although I've blocked out the 2003 trip (we left our newborn at home with the grandparents and I was so worried about him, I remember next to nothing and there is not one picture documenting that we were there).

DH, Bryan, 29 - Self-proclaimed Gadget Geek, loves all things Apple, sports, playing golf, collects graphic novels (hardcover comic book compilations, for those who don't know), and is nearly as much of a Disney lover as his wife . He's a manager at our local movie theater (we both worked there in high school - that's how we met).

DS9, Christian, 9 - Our social kiddo. Never met a stranger - he'll give you his life story if you listen long enough. He's a daddy's boy who has a genuine tender heart, believes in the good in everyone, and is the sweetest little sweetheart. Loves Power Rangers, Iron Man, Tae Kwon Do, golf, and is becoming as Disney obsessed as his parents! He loves mild thrill rides and his favorite Disney ride is BTMRR. He's our little gray-eyed boy - his eyes are this amazing shade of gray, which is not on either recent side of the gene pool (must be the combination of our genetics or a great-great ancestor). Dislikes include: Mean people and being called "pretty" (which happens from random strangers at least twice a month).

DS5, Lucas, 5 (6 on our next trip) - Our shy guy. Very much a mama's boy - he even takes after my side of the family (looks just like my dad). Loves Mario, the Avengers, video games, golfing with daddy and brother, reading books, and Disney World. He's our blue-eyed boy (has my eyes, exactly) and where his brother talks to anyone he encounters, this one rarely utters a word. His favorite ride tends to be the Winnie the Pooh ride, although he's just as fond of the Buzz Lightyear ride and the Carousel. He got his dad's ride tendency - while Christian and I are on the Disney thrill rides, he and Luke hang around Fantasyland and live it up .

My two little guys are the best of friends - we really lucked out! They rarely ever have a fight and our Disney trips have been smooth sailing, with no meltdowns, tantrums or whining. We're hoping the streak continues in 2012!

Content:

First Trip - 2010
Second Trip/aka Surprise Trip!
To Do a Third Trip or Not...
The Plan
Goals for 2012

 

[AshleeH]

A little back story:

Our first trip to Disney World (as a family) was a work more than five years in progress. It was the textbook perfect family vacation! I think we could go to Disney 50 more times and even if all of those trips are drama-free, that one would still be the best of the best!

It was 2010 and for at least 5 years, every spare cent we had went to saving up for that trip. All tax returns and odds and ends (after necessities, of course) went into a Disney fund. By the time we thought the boys were old enough to go (silly us, we could've been going for years if we didn't have this "they need to be older philosophy" ) we went through all the resorts to see which was the best fit for us.

We knew we would be going on Christian's fall break from school, but we could not agree on a resort. I was pushing for the Grand Floridian or Boardwalk. DH was wanting the cabins at Fort Wilderness (where he had spent his vacations as a child). I had never stayed on property at Disney, but I knew I wouldn't like the cabins very much.

We went around and around on this subject, but couldn't agree on one or the other. Finally, a compromise was called for: we realized we were being stupid and going for our wants when all along we'd been calling this the Kids' Trip, so we should really focus on what they would like.

It was a truce that worked out for the best. After that it was surprisingly easy to settle on Animal Kingdom with a savanna view and we splurged for a two bedroom suite in Kidani Village (hey, all that saving for years had to pay off somewhere!). As you can imagine, it was a hit!

The kids especially loved that they had their own room and they each had their own bed (never happened before or since in a hotel room):

I appreciated the table - we ate breakfast in most days and it was a welcome addition to the room:

We were a little worried how Lucas would react to the characters - especially the Fab Five (they're not big fans of Mickey Mouse and I worried that the exuberance of some might make him nervous). As a test run, we booked Chef Mickey's on arrival night. If he didn't react well to the characters at the restaurant, we would know to avoid the lines in the parks (at least he would, big brother would still get pics):

As you can see, our worries were unfounded .

And Christian also loved them (as we knew he would). His favorite was Pluto and he still brings up this moment whenever we talk about Chef Mickey's:

Luckily for us, Fall Break falls on the same week as our anniversary. This trip, we spent our 8th Anniversary at Mickey's Not-So-Scary-Halloween Party and had a blast!

The only mistake we made (not my fault - I told DH we had every day of that tripped planned perfectly) was getting park hoppers. We didn't use them a single day and with what they cost, we could've done another MNSSHP! Oh well, you live, you learn.


We had two more character meals that trip - one at CRT (that one was more for me - I love Ariel and I also wanted the experience of eating inside the castle). Surprisingly this turned out to be the best character interaction on the trip! Ariel even came back to the table after the first round to check on her little princes and see what they wished for in the Wishing segment. They were covered in glitter and lipstick after all the princesses got ahold of them:

Our final character meal was on departure day (our camera messed up, so no good pics from that one). It was at 1900 Park Fare and was a nice sendoff to the trip.

We were really sad leaving Disney that year - we told the boys (and firmly believed) that it would be several years before we would be back.

Oh, how wrong we were...

 

[AshleeH]

This was very much a spur-of-the-minute trip. We had planned (all year) to take a trip back to Destin - where we frequently vacationed in the earlier years of our marriage. Well, two months out and hurricanes were scheduled to hit like crazy. So we changed our plans and decided to go up north and drive to Hershey, PA (and other places). This plan stayed in place for a month before we had people telling us that there was flooding and Hershey Park would be closed - possibly the entire time we were there. We had told Christian we would be going to some type of theme/amusement park.

I still remember the day we threw Hershey out the window. I was so fed up with changing vacation plans because of the weather, so I called DH at work and my exact words were, "Now hear me out..."

This went on with me detailing that we should just go to Disney again. We still had money saved up from our first trip, so we could scale it down a bit (smaller room, no character meals, no table service meals, fewer souvenirs) with the only splurge being two MNSSHPs.

DH was open to the idea and over the next few days we discussed it more in depth (we were about 30 days out from fall break at this point). I told him we could stay in the Contemporary (we got stuck in MK on our 2010 trip for two hours one night and we both stared longingly at the CR the entire time we sat there). After a few more modifications to the plan, it was decided.

We couldn't book the Contemporary. There wasn't a single room available all week. DH booked Saratoga Springs (I wasn't as picky this year, since I was thrilled we were going back, so he picked this one).

Even after that, I kept checking back daily - sometimes multiple times per day. Finally, about three weeks from our vacation, Sunday-Tuesday night opened up and we swooped in and booked the room (a one-bedroom garden suite - a little more elaborate than we were planning on, but still in the price-frame). The plan was to check out Wednesday morning and move to SSR.

After that, we got a surprise - my parents and in-laws have always had a standing invitation to go with us. My parents couldn't go (my dad is a professor and October is one of his busiest times) but my in-laws said that they would be able to drive the RV down and stay for a few days! As luck would have it, these happened to be the three days we would be at SSR, so another change of plan was in the works: this time we would move to Wilderness Lodge to be closer to my in-laws who would be in the Campgrounds (Contemporary never opened up for the rest of the week or we would've preferred to just stay there).

We decided to try surprising the boys for this trip. I'm not terribly good about keeping secrets, but we were only 30 days out when we first booked SSR - surely I could make it 30 days! Well, it was hard! Worth it, but very hard (I slipped up two or three times, but it was always a vague thing so they never caught on). We drive to Orlando (about 12 hours straight-through) and once we hit the stretch with all the Disney billboards, we thought for sure that the surprise would be ruined. Luckily, they were each playing on their Nintendo DS's and never looked up.

When we saw the first glimpse of the WDW sign over the road, I grabbed my phone and turned on the video camera. I've got such a cute video of the kids with me asking them if they were ready to find out where we would be spending the next week. We told them to look up - Christian immediately saw the sign and got so excited! Luke, who was tired of riding in the car, upon realizing it was Disney World said, "Ahhh, I wanted to go to the hotel!"

No worries - as soon as he realized we would be staying in a hotel in Disney World, he had a great time!

We enjoyed staying at the Contemporary - that walkway to MK was worth it's weight in gold! We did one MNSSHP on that Tuesday night and had a great time - although the boys kept asking why they couldn't wear their costumes (we were saving them for the Thursday night party).

We had another surprise up our sleeve - we kept it a secret that the grandparents would be joining us (anything could've happened at work that would keep my FIL from making the trip and we didn't want them disappointed if they had to cancel). We checked into Wilderness Lodge and not long after, the grandparents showed up knocking on the door and the boys got another great surprise .

They took us out for our anniversary (Trail's End) and the next night was our second MNSSHP (in-laws were M&Ms and a huge hit with everyone we crossed paths with at the party!). My little guys were Iron Man and War Machine - we had been to DHS that morning and Christian got his face painted like Iron Man (or "Metal Man" as the sign proudly displays). Luke didn't want his face painted, even though they told him they could do War Machine colors, but was adorable anyway:

This one was another enjoyable family trip (no fights). Not quite as "Textbook Perfect" as our 2010 trip - due to a snafu with our split-stay - we couldn't get into MK and had to lose several hours walking back, checking out, checking into WL and getting settled there - then when we got back, MK was dreadfully hot and crowded - this was our anniversary and aside from the in-laws showing up and taking us out to eat, it was just not a great day. We went back to MK that night and it was so crowded that we got trapped in a crowd for 20 minutes - it was terrifying and the CM was yelling at people to move or he would have to declare a state of emergency and get the police in to clear the area because you literally could not take one step. We will never again go to MK on a Wishes night when their are MNSSHP's that week!

All in all, it was a lot of fun - and for me being a planner extraordinaire when it comes to our trips, was surprisingly smooth.

 

[reyasmommy]

Such an adorable family. You're so lucky your boys get along so well. School has only been out for a week, and I'm about to loose my mind with my two kids. They can't agree on anything!

I surprised my DD with a trip to Disneyland last fall. I kept it a secret for almost a whole year! On the day of our trip when we stopped for dinner we told her where we were going. I was expecting some MAJOR cheering, clapping, smiling, etc, etc.... But NOOOOO ! When we told her the big news, she had the biggest frown on her face because she thought we were going to a hotel that night to go swimming... She didn't want to go to Disney she just wanted to go freaking swimming.... lol.. I was almost heartbroken by her response... In the end it worked out though and she was of course happy and had the time of her life. But I lived and learned and am NOT doing the surprie thing again. At least not with her. I'll have to see if I have the video, you'll crack up.

Anyway, can't wait to hear more.

 

[AshleeH]

Thank you! Your kids are adorable too! It's funny how kids can react so different to Disney news (not always the way the commercials portray it lol!) but now you have a very funny story to hold over her for the rest of her life .

I know what you mean about getting cabin fever in the summer! My boys get along great, but usually by July, I'm ready to put them in neutral corners and leave them there (which is usually when a grandmother steps in and takes one for the day, so they can have a break from each other). Luckily this year my oldest son has a lot of activities planned, so I'm hoping that helps.

Thanks for commenting! Nice to know I'm not typing for myself . I've got a few more updates, but it's after midnight here, so I'm going to leave it for the weekend.

 

[BearcatsFan]

Aww what a cute family! Love all your photos - I'm hoping to put some in my TR also ... once I figure out how

When is your anniversary?

Look forward to more details!

 

[CandleontheWater]

What cute little boys! I'm looking forward to reading more!

 

[AshleeH]

Thank you, both!

BearcatsFan - posting pictures is very easy! Just sign up for a Photobucket account (it's free), upload the pictures you want and when they're all uploaded, all you have to do is mouse over the picture (you don't even have to click on it, although you can, it's just more steps) and a list of codes will pop up - the IMG code is at the bottom. Click on it once and it automatically copies it, come over here and post it wherever it needs to be in your post and that's all there is to it .

Our anniversary is October 12. I'll be back later today for another update - my little ones have a birthday party. Priorities .

 

[AshleeH]

I don't really remember what the original plan was when we left Disney World last year. Our last day was at Animal Kingdom and I remember we all waved goodbye from the parking lot and we told the kids it would be a while before we saw WDW again.

This was October and sometime around December we started talking about Disney. I mentioned it would be nice to book the Contemporary early the next time we went, so we wouldn't have to do another split stay. That escalated to us saying that we conceivably could go ahead and book it for October and if we couldn't make it work, we could always cancel several months in advance with no penalties.

This idea gained steam when my dad announced that he was retiring (he was eligible years ago, but he always said he would teach until it stopped being fun - that was this year). We thought it would be nice if they were able to go - my mom had always said she wanted to go with us on our first trip to Disney, but since October was the best time for us, they couldn't join us. My in-laws joined us last year, but my parents couldn't get away.

We talked to him about going in October and as long as his schedule allowed it (he'll be retiring from teaching, but he'll still be involved in national teaching group, which is a two week commitment in May, June, and October) and if the dates didn't conflict, they would love to join us. This was a relief - my mom's health has been dwindling quickly the last few years (she has Muscular Dystrophy). Fairly recently - the last two years or so, she can only walk very short distances before resting or needing a wheelchair and her mobility lessens every year.

Another potential reason that we might cancel: We had been trying to have a third child for a year (at that point). That was December, so I knew if I got pregnant in the following months, we would have to postpone that trip - which would be a welcome reason! And no, I'm still not pregnant, so it was never a factor.

Apparently a little bit of Disney magic was worked - Bryan got a message that we would be upgraded to Bay Lake Tower! A little pixie dust at work .

My dad got his schedule last month and even though there is a slight overlap of the dates, they will be able to join us for most of the weekdays. We're trying to get them to stay on property - they've never stayed "In the Bubble" and I think they would enjoy it. We always stayed offsite while I was growing up and when they took my sister and her kids (twice) they stayed offsite then as well. My dad mentioned that he always wanted to stay at the Poly, so I'm working on him. Right now he's asking about POFQ, so maybe they will at least stay onsite.

I'm just glad my kids will get the experience of going with both sets of grandparents (on different trips) to WDW!

 

[AshleeH]

The plan:

Staying in Bay Lake Tower (no idea where my parents are staying yet - they are strictly offsite people, but I'm trying to talk them into staying onsite for the very first time).

We recently decided (just a few days ago) to get there a day early. In the past, we've split up the 12 hour drive by stopping in Valdosta or Gainesville. The boys are older now, so we decided to drive straight-through on Saturday (with fewer stops). This way we'll get a full morning/afternoon at Animal Kingdom instead of getting there around noon or later.

We looked at other hotels (not wanting to pay BL/CR prices for one night) and we didn't want to mess with the Dining Plan, so we booked Pop for the first night (we let our oldest pick between that one and Art of Animation). We're hoping to get there around 10:00 p.m., which means we'll roll in around midnight . I'm excited to see a different resort and even though I loathe split-stays, this one will be more tolerable since I can pack a small bag for all of us for that night and not have to unpack and repack everything mid-stay.

We're trying all new restaurants this year, with the exception of two:
~Tusker House (lunch)
~Garden Grill (supper)
~Akershus (supper)
~Chef Mickey's (breakfast - previously tried it for supper)
~'Ohana (breakfast)
~Le Cellier (lunch)
~1900 Park Fare - Anniversary night! Happily Ever After Dinner seemed appropriate . We tried it for breakfast and loved it.

ADR's are already booked and ready to go.

We've got two MNSSHP's planned - we did that last year and loved going for two nights! Tickets are purchased and already in my Disney Backpack ready to go.

And we also had a surprise - my youngest son's best friend and his family will be there at the same time (I'm friends with his mom, so it's good news for me too!) and we're going to try and coordinate going to one of the parties together.

We also have a family who we are all friends with (husbands, wives, kids - all friends) who we're hoping to do the second party with. This promises to be a very chaotic trip! And no, we won't be touring with either family - we might meet up at random at the odd time if we're both free, but other than that, we'll just try to work it out that we hang around each other for a portion of the party nights.

In other news, I got my dad hooked on Harry Potter years ago, so he and I will be taking off for a morning and heading over to WWoHP - I had been there last year, but my kids wanted to stop at the Marvel areas, so it was already crowded by the time we got back there. Dad and I will make a beeline for the area and be able to really enjoy it - and I'll get to finally try a butterbeer!


Next up....GOALS

 

[ghtx]

Looking forward to the rest of the PTR! We'll be in BLT in Oct, too!

 

[CandleontheWater]

I'm glad that your parents will be able to join you! It will be a lot of fun to have them along. We travel with my parents frequently and always have a lot of fun!

I think the plan sounds great! I love the contemporary, so I think you are making a great choice!

 

[AshleeH]

Thank you, both!

Goals for 2012: Get our picture with the Seven Dwarfs and pictures with Rapunzel and Flynn at MNSSHP; Get my oldest to ride Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion. But primarily, I have weight-loss goals.

A little backstory: I've always considered myself to be fairly in shape (I'm 5'7" and usually around a size 8). How I look wasn't something I stressed over, but my weight started climbing when my youngest son turned 2. I didn't really notice or care (DH always says I look perfect, so it wasn't an issue), but then I realized I was technically overweight (10 pounds).

And so the yo-yo diets began. We went on a cruise with our best friends in 2009 - I lost about 20 pounds and felt great! The next year rolled around and I had gained 35 back - I was bigger than I'd ever been in my life (including during my pregnancies!). Even knowing this, I wasn't motivated to lose it. I gave it a half-hearted effort with some walking, but before I knew it, my HS reunion and our first Disney trip were upon us and there I was, 25 pounds overweight.

2011: I did start losing weight - approximately 16 pounds between January and April. Then May rolled around and I had a miscarriage. After that, my weight climbed back up to it's previous highest number.

December 26, 2011. That was my epiphany day. I went to sleep on Christmas night and woke up the next day with a "switch" flipped on. I had lost sleep the night before, agonizing over how much I weighed now and that it just kept fluctuating. It was like I woke up a new person - corny, but true. I jumped into my diet. Focusing on portion control and really listening to my body and realizing when I was full.

Slowly, but surely, the weight has been coming off. As of this morning, I've lost 21 pounds (and 19.5 inches). I still have 29 pounds to go, but it doesn't seem too daunting.

So my goals:

~To be smaller than both of the previous Disney trips (Done!)

~To lose 25 pounds by DH's HS reunion this year (4 more lbs. by end of Aug.)

~To feel more comfortable in a swimsuit when we go to the beach in a few weeks (working on it).

~And a tentative goal, but one I won't beat myself up over if I don't reach it: To be "Cruise Weight" for our Disney trip this year (my weight in 2009). 10 pounds away from that - do-able for October, but I'm not going to stress over it if the pounds don't come off quickly - I recently hit a plateau for the last month and I'm just getting over that hump).

My ultimate goal (not to be accomplished this year) is to lose 50 pounds.

I came up with an incentive: For every 5 pounds I lose, I treat myself to something. For instance - when I lost 15 pounds, I bought myself a Vera Bradley Mini-Hipster.

But I wanted something huge for 50 pounds! That is a big deal! The most weight I have ever lost was the 20 pounds for the cruise in 2009 - and that wasn't even 20 pounds, it was something like 19.6. So I wanted a huge incentive! And then it came to me...

I have always wanted to go to WDW at Christmas. It doesn't have to be the actual holiday, just the season, to see the decorations and go to MVMCP. That's part 1. Part 2: I've always wanted to stay at the Grand Floridian. Put those two things together and... I now have an ultimate goal. The hitches in the plan: (1)Christmas is my husband's busiest time at work; (2)The kids have school; (3)Grand Floridian is freakin' expensive!!!

Resolutions: (1)We go early in the season before my husband's business heats up; (2)Leave kids with the grandparents; (3)Buy a Disney Gift Card every single time I go to Walgreens or Kroger (1-3 times per week) and those will go toward the GF and take the chunk out of the expense.

We'll be going to Disneyland next year for our family vacation (in May), so I'm hoping to meet my ultimate weight loss goal by then, but if not, I'll still have until late November to lose an additional 29 pounds (and that's November of 2013), so it will happen!

Slow and steady wins the race