The 2nd most challanging school year we've BOTH experienced is complete.. now what?

[Axelrodb1]

Go on a vacation to Disney of course!

Hi All, to clarify I am 37 and a High School special education teacher, and my son is 16 and *almost* a Junior in High School and wow has this school year been an adventure!! Our first year back in person after Zoom learning/teaching on top of 101 other interesting things has made both of us beyond ready for this summer and a nice break.

A little more about us: my son and I have been vacation to Disney together for as long as I can remember.


What better proof then a stroller shot, waiting for fireworks AND covered in Mickey Premium Bar!


Things sure have changed, here we are now.. it would be great if my pictures would stop rotating on me.. anyone know how to fix that!

Trevor dreams of becoming either an Imagineer or a Marine Biologist and I could not be more proud. He studies hard and is hoping to get his driving permit soon EEK. He loves roller coasters and water slides and has recently become quite an adventurous eater compared to the days of butter noodles and cereal. To that note we have looked at so many menus and dining reviews recently, he might be more excited about food then he is rides this trip, which is fantastic.

I taught elementary school for almost 10 years before switching not only to special education but also to high school. I actually made the swap, earned my masters AND got the new job roughly 5 weeks before the pandemic sent us all home. What a time for a career swap huh!?

We have been planning and re-planning and changing plans around so many times that I think my head might spin. I am a paper person and so I have lists and charts and notes both crumbled up and saved (and a few I dug out of the trash even.) So why do a PTR? MY hope is to get my thoughts fully figured out, and if all goes according to plan some advice and thoughts from other people. Sometimes I think the planning is the most fun, but sometimes it feels very overwhelming and oddly like a lot of pressure.

If you've made it this far welcome, now that we have somewhat briefly concurred the "who" I hope to jump into the what/where and a little why next!

 

[Axelrodb1]

We originally planned our trip for early June..due to both of our schedules we are bound to the school calendar and my initial thought was that if we were to fly out ASAP once school ends we might be a tad ahead of crowds and maybe it might be a little less hot and rainy.

Ultimately my son decided he wanted a summer job at a nearby summer camp and they seemed to have availability in June so we changed our plans to July. This actually worked out perfectly because my dear friend and her two little ones will be going to Fort Wilderness in July. I can say as much experience as I have with Florida in July, I think I could name a dozen other times I would rather be going. I have gotten fairly good at packing ponchos, fans, dry socks and all those great things; but what I am not prepared for are the crowds. I have somehow never experienced these 8/10 or 10/10 crowd level days and I am nervous!!!

So here are the summer plans in a quick run-down.
6/22-6/23 travel from San Fransisco to Fort Lauderdale
6/23-7/8: Other Florida things (happy to explain we have some fun adventures lined up!
7/9-7/13 AKL Studio (first time at this resort!)
7/13-7/18:Nearby AirBnb
7/18-7/22: Saratoga Springs Studio (another first!)
7/22-8/4: Some sort of something in Florida? TBD I suppose

Why the long trip you may ask? In all fairness we booked knowing we have friends we can stay with and booked around flights. This was essentially last minute in terms of flights and they ranged from 200-999 dollars one way and we opted to take advantage of those inexpensive days! Realistically speaking we spend most of our summer in Florida ever since moving (we miss it!!) but this trip is longer than most.

 

[MaleficentMe]

Ohh! Me first me first!

Looking forward to all this and the eventual completed TR!

 

[Axelrodb1]

I think pre-trip reports might be the most challenging. I told my son I want to do a dinning report or maybe a regular report while we are on our trip, it might be biting off more than I can chew but I feel like writing about how things went would be fun and relaxing, it’s like calling your bestie and telling them about your day. Except to a bunch of strangers on the internet!

As far as planning goes we have added a cruise to the end of our trip and will be traveling bc to the Bahamas from July 22-25th. My son wants to stay at the swan/dolphin to check them out from the 22-25 but it feels like a waste since the 22 we will be at the parks and then on Monday we’d leave early to go to the ship. We do have time after our cruise, a week to be exact, so maybe we go then? Three weeks in the parks feels excessive in this heat but maybe still TBD!

Thoughts anyone?