The "3882 days between WDW visits is just insane" PTR

[justakrazymom]

So.. 3882 from my last day at WDW until I am there again...crazy? More than a little and NOT what I planned as I left WDW on New Years Day nearly 10 years ago..

Let's back track.. about 4630 days to be exact.. April 6th 1999..first trip to WDW , location..Dixie Landings resort..cast..Myself ( then 24), my mom, my cousin and my son Noah ( then 4.5)

here is Noah and I in Norway ( excuse the pictures..I dont have a scanner and they are pictures of pictures)... I was so much younger..and thinner..ack!

And of course just Noah..light of my life ( that was BEFORE he became a rotten teenager..lol).. we did CRT..he acted not happy with all the princesses talking to him..but really..he loved it and made puppy eyes at each one as they approached or left!

We had a glorious 10 days at the World..oh my ..we all fell in love..head over heels in love ( careful..love really gets in the way of this girls dreams..lol).

We no sooner get home and I plan another trip for Christmas 2000..so a mere 613 days inbetween.. not as soon as I wanted at the time, boy oh boy does that number seem so small now eh?

So about 522 after leaving WDW I met a guy..yep told ya love was gonna change a few things for this girl . Now up to this point the plan was Jan 2002 my mother was retiring and we were moving to Fl.. I was a waitress(head waitress and trainer thank you very much) and that skill travel wells!

WELL..one day with said guy and I knew I was head over heels in love..somehow WDW moved from #2 on my love list ( yeah my son was #1..lol) to #3 . In 91 days I was to leave this awesome guy for a 14 day trip to the World..boy was that hard ( and easy at the same time).

Well we went to WDW, stayed at CBR.. had 14 awesome days , but that guy 1200 miles away never left my head. Even with all the fun..

and the awesome people we met.. Noah was extremely taken with a certain CM named Vivian at the Brazil part of Millennium Village:

.
So after all that fun we went home..and I was glad..BUT plans changed.. in fact 138 days later that guy ( Eric BTW) and I got married. It was great.. and about ONE day later I was expecting our first child together.. well than rather quickly ( about 1704 days to be exact ) we had 3 more kids ( grand total 4...and holding).
Anyone that has 3 kids in 3.5 years ( or 1297 days from first birth to third) knows this..they are costly and exhausting. My WDW dreams had been replaced with nursing,changing diapers, chasing toddlers and then with homeschooling all 4 of them rugrats of mine.

Ok so now we are all the way up until November 19 2011...

 

[justakrazymom]

So. Nov 2011..but that still needs a little more back story. See I have this friend.. been friends since 1981 in fact. Spent lots of time together in grade school..little less in middle..almost none in High ( lived in different towns). We have ( well in the last 4 years) become very close again. She and her hubby have 7 kids and go to Disney yearly if not more.I'm always jealous as heck..but with a single income and 4 kids..well WDW was just NOT gonna happen for us. I had resigned myself to this. She has asked us to go with them many times..but the numbers on that math scared me even more than the 1704 days from one birth to a third did!

So many little "things" started working in a weird way about 130 days ago. Planets aligned, the economy started picking up in my husbands field..ie LOTS of OT, my friend and her husband leased a building, started plans for a new club and need a head waitress ( still in process but we are soo close to opening and me earning $$) a few nights a week, the kids got older and less work.

My brain started working on the whole..well maybe we CAN do this. We have driven to outside Savannah GA and home not once but twice ( about 997 miles..straight thru EASY). So getting the FL was not an issue. What's 250ish more miles..nuttin!

Then came the free dining in August 2011.. hum.. that was one of my biggest things.. I can do the rooms, I can do the tickets I can do the drive..but the food..ack.. 4 kids, one husband.. that's a lot of food to pay for. ( and yes I know DDP isn't really "free"...but I crunched the numbers..it's close!). Well this "free" DDP sealed the deal. Called my awesome friends got the dates and resort they were going to.

Now we are up to Nov 22 2011 when I called, and made our ressies for two rooms with 7 people ( my mom is joining us) at Pop Century.

So this trip has really been 3629 days in the making. Lots of detours ( AKA KIDS) and life changes along the way..but we are finally on the right path to getting my butt back to WDW.

To say I am excited would be an understatement. I never thought we'd get our youngest 3 there before they all hit double digits. They will be 5 ( almost 6..like within days of us coming back home),7 and 9.. with the oldest turning 17 while there. Oh want to see them?

here's that once cute little boy who pretended he didn't like the pretty princesses..hard to believe he will be 17 in August.

and here's the tornado triplets ( while they are not true triplets they sure can stir up a tornado and leave a wake of destruction behind)
The one on the left side will be 9 in Feb, the girl was 7 in Oct and the sweet little thing is 5.

Oh and here is myself and my DH.. and YES that would be a glow stick under my hat.. we were at a parade..I was feeling goofy..enough said!

Oh did I mention we are going with friends? Well here's that amazing friend of almost 30 years and her hubby.. forgive them it was Halloween and they were some character's from Jersey Shore..they don't normally look like this:

they will be bringing their 7 kids ( from 16 to 3).. and her mom!

Also are these awesome friends:

who will have their one son ( 16)..

there may be various other teens that join if they can come up with the cash needed.. we shall see!

So that's who's going...

 

[justakrazymom]

Now, if your still with me.. it must be known I am a planner.. OCD and I are best friends. I am organized, meticulous and I tend to be a BIT obsessed..

I sit here with 73 days until I can make ADR's, 208 days to have the two reservations paid off, 252 days until we leave, and 253 days until we arrive at WDW ( we will drive if ya missed that.. it's about 1250ish miles..or 22ish hours). I am so obsessed with planning this trip that I am on the boards all the time. Afterall it's been 3629 days since I was IN WDW.. a few things have changed!

Oh..wait... did I mention this is a SURPRISE trip? Oh I didn't..shoot.. well it is. Our 3 youngest kiddo's will NOT be told..The oldest knows..but that's ok.. I told him..lol .

So we don't plan to tell the 3 youngest ( Lord help me keep this secret please? ). The plan is to "decide" last minute to head to GA to visit our friends as we normally do ( we usually go in April though). We plan to leave at a time that will have us arrive in orlando at day break on the 19th..so the kids will wake and we will BE in WDW ( they won't notice we missed our exit to Savannah..lol).. the oldest and my mother are Amtraking it down as the drive is just too long for my mom.

So if all goes as planned my kids are going to be SHOCKED..thrilled I hope.. excited and full of magic I pray.

So that's a ways down the road..I try not to think on it too much right now.. on to plans right?

Sooo.. we are part of a rather grand Grand Gathering. We are all on DDP ( upgraded to regular from QS).. so 2 credits will used for something ( we haven't decided what.. I would already know but they are not the pre-planners I am!).

On August 23rd my oldest turns 17..the plan is MK that day then boat it over to Hoop Dee Doo for the early show. I am not thrilled we can't get cat 1 seating except at the 9:30 show..but we will survive ( 2000 we had the front table..it was GREAT).

I know we have to eat at Coral Reef ( i know I know..but I have to for the Dh who does NOT understand WDW and would prefer NOT to go) and I'd like to do Sci Fi and Whispering Canyon..

Once the calendars come out for August I can start planning what parks,what days and then yeppie..ADR time!!!

I am still internally debating on buying a stroller for my youngest. He's..welll..adorable but rather dramatic.. and if he gets tired..um.. I will make the notable list for sure. I plan to "train" all 3 wee ones to walk miles a day... so I guess I'll make this decision as it gets closer.

So there's my PTR up to today...if you came and read..awesome..if not..my feelings won't be too hurt..really..I'll hold it together.. I swear..

 

[justakrazymom]

just have to add.. broke the 250 mark..249 days to go. It feels like forever, and I know I don't want to rush thru the next 8 months....but I wanna be at WDW NOW!!!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Great start!

Like you, I am here all the time...even when I shoudl be doing something else.

I have used this past August's hours to plan so far. I know they may change but in general they are usually pretty close.

I alway thought Tyler and Skyler were too far apart (6 years actually and not by choice) but three in three years... You must be one heack of a woman! And you homeschooled too???? I wanted to when Tyler was old enough for various reasons but then decided it was not going to work (we did a sort of trial run the year he was in pre-school becasue he he was ready to actually start kindergarten but becasue he birthday is at the end of December he had to wait another year) and now I wish I had made it work becasue I don't think our public school is doing much for him except hurtng him. Skye is a totally different person and she may have worked out homeschooling but she pretty much works out everywhere...I don't know where she came from!?!?! Tyler goes to junior high next year and I just hope he is able to work it all out.

I'll be reading along to see how your planning goes and to make sure I don't forget anything!

 

[justakrazymom]

Yep..my youngest three have never been in a classroom except for CCD at church..lol.. my oldest went until 6th grade.. and I pulled him then went back for part of 9th and 10th..nightmare..so he's back home and is actually graduating a year early...

Once I know what places the giant group of us wants to eat at I can plan more... only planning the Grand Gathering and 2ish more ADR's with them.. the rest will be be on our own! Hoping to add hoppers if I can swing the extra $350ish

 

[justakrazymom]

Ok my plans thus far....

August 15th.. Tell my three youngest we have decided to go to GA to visit the friends we visit every April, yes it's August.. lol ( will be prepared for the rotten mood my then 9.5 year old will be in as he does NOT like going).. we plan to tell them we are going for 3 days.

August 17th.. spend the day packing the van. My oldest will go to my mother's house. The three wee ones are being told Noah can't get the time off work to go with us, so he will be staying with my mother.... in reality they are Amtraking it down to orlando.

August 18th...Noah and my mother leave at 6:55 on Amtrak from Albany NY. Current plan is we leave around 4/5am . Reason for this is then we will blow by our stop in GA while the kids are sleeping and they will wake up IN WDW..downfall to this is that we will arrive in Orlando about 1/2am...LOL..so this may be tweaked..one option is to stop in lower SC at a motel..BUT then there will be no waking up in WDW..sigh..decisions decisions..

August 19th.. arrive in Orlando..first stop Walmart for cases of water, boxes of cereal, granola bars, chips, milk, 2 liters of soda etc. We will have our LARGE cooler with us so add ice and we are good to go! No fridge needed.
Next get to POP..check in..wayyyy early...LOL.. let the kids swim while we wait for Noah and my mom to get to the Orlando Amtrak station~ Alternative to this is their train is wayyyy late and we head to the parks.

First park is MK..

August 20th~

August 21st~

August 22nd ~

August 23rd~ Noah's 17th birthday... MK today then boat to Hoop Doo Dee

August 24th~

August 25th~

August 26th~

August 27th~

August 28th ~ My 36th Birthday.. not sure what we will do special.. last day in the parks also the day my friends may have to leave because their kids are in school ( mine are all homeschooled)

August 29th~ sadly pack up the van and head back to the real work...whaaa.. We may add another day to our base passes so we can enjoy a half day at the parks before we head home..if we do this we will stop overnight in NC on the way home.

 

[justakrazymom]

Now as of yet we will NOT have hoppers.. it's just a LOT more for 7 people to add hoppers ( we had em for both our other trips..but there was only 3 of us..lol)...

So i am planning one park per day.. DHS is NOT one of my faves.. so I doubt we will do more than one day there.. and AK is 1 MAYBE 2 days.. Epcot 2 the rest in MK... No water park days unless I come into so serious extra money..LOL

I am pretty flexible..well as much as ADR's and non-hopper passes will allow. I want to be able to spend time at the pool and such with my kids too..not just park time!

 

[justakrazymom]

247 days!
I made a payment yesterday and will make another one tomorrow ( system is down right now..)...every little payment I make ,makes it feel that much more real!!! I've almost paid 20% of the total package ( 2 ressies, 6 of the 7 people as my mother is paying her part herself)..very excited!!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Yea...Yea...Yea!!!

We are saving at home but not making payments until that 45 day mark. Well, I may do it sooner if taxes come back where I expect but I think it will be in one lump sum....we'll see...But I agree, every little bit makes it feel that much closer!

 

[justakrazymom]

For us..if it was sitting here we'd end up using it..LOL>.. so sending them money every week is better for us..kwim? Once the 2 ressies are paid off then I am saving for spending money..I am thinking $100 a day for my 6 people, but the kids will each have 4 $25 gift cards to use for the whole trip... plus the $450ish for gas and tolls....ack..my head is spinning!!!

 

[justakrazymom]

Oh and a big bonus is my niece and nephews school sells gift cards as an ongoing fundraiser..so I will be buying the 12 $25 ones for the kids and then $500 of our spending money will be on GC so that's another 20 of em and their school will get the benefits of that!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

I get it on the spending if it is around...I owe the "jar" already but my online travel agent would prefer we not make payments becasue if there are any changes after that it could be more complicated...so we'll see!

That is very neat that their school does that! That will end up being win-win all the way around!

I know Sam's Club was selling them the last time I was there and if you bought them for $100.00 toy got a $10.00 free or something like that but I di dnot have the extra cash laying around for that. Would have been nice though!

 

[justakrazymom]

I'm my own travel agent..LOL...

Yeah I think it's cool , at least the school benefits from something I'd buy anyway!

 

[justakrazymom]

245 days!!! I decided to buy a Canon Rebel for the trip...should be here today or tomorrow.. I have 8 months to learn how to use it..LOL

 

[tyandskyesmom]

Which one?

I got one for my birthday from my parents and Lou and the kids (Lou said he is now my mom's slave for life fixing up around the house and such to pay off their portion of the cost! ). I got a Ti1 (I think???) but that was not the one I was supposed to get...apparently I was supposed to get the one a step down but bucause of some mix-up at the store, I got a step up for the same money...so far, I love it!

 

[justakrazymom]

the Ti1....LOL.. stupid fedex though..grrr.. was supposed to be here by 10:30...and still not..

 

[justakrazymom]

Ok so I sit here less than a week before Christmas.. and yet what am I thinking about the most..yep.. WDW in what 244 days..LOL..

Now, If you notice I have a thing with numbers.. I'm slightly OCD and numbers are my "thing" so I thought I do a run down of all the numbers in my head for ya:

6 Days until Christmas
37 days until Declan's big visit to the orthodontist for his big bad mess of a mouth...
55 days until Declan turns 9
63 days until I can make my ADR's
114 days until Easter
151 days until our 10th wedding anniversary
178 days until Recital 2011 begins ( my MIL owns and I work at her large dance center plus all 3 younger ones take multiple classes)
183 days until Recital 2011 is over
198 days until must have the ressies all paid off
236 days until we tell the 3 younger ones the fake story about going to GA to visit friends
242 days until we leave...
243 days until we arrive at WDW

Or something like that....

 

[justakrazymom]

Just made another payment.. I love Christmas money....LOL.. we have managed to pay off 1/4 of both ressies in less than a month.. of course the speed will slow now that DH's work has slowed down..but I am feeling way more confident we can pay this trip off AND save for serious spending money too!!

 

[tyandskyesmom]

WOW!! You have been busy countin'! I thought I had Mickey on the brain!

Our families as so alike it's almost scary...even though I only have two kids!

Tyler is on his way to a visit to the orthodontist probably this spring. Skye is in four dance classes...three (ballet, tap, and jazz with her age group and jazz competition team as of this year with 10 year olds and older) so while recitals are May 22, I have no idea when competitions are yet...this is our first year involved with that.

I love my new camera, did you get yours yet?!?!?!?! I surely have not figured out everything it can do but I have figured out enough for now...I will eventually figure out how to work all the manual settings too. Maybe I need to find one of those biiks like Photography for Dummies to learn it all! The kids keep saying "Can I see it?" and "Can I take a picture with it"...and I keep saying "NO!". I am looking forward to some awesome pictures to post when I get back from Disney...oh, Lou would be upset with me saying that becasue it sounds like I am only excited about the new camera for Mickey's sake...not really, I just have not really had time to get to Sam's to put my other pics on a disc and my computer at home is not working well enough to post the ones from Super Bowl or Cheer competition yet...I will get there!

Are you done Christmas shopping? I think I finished last night...in the beginning of the snow "storm"...it seems any time the weather man thinks we might get snow that does not melt immediately upon hitting the ground they call it a Storm or a Winter Weather Watch...come on, it's winter in Chicago...this is nothing! Bit now I need to find time without the kids knowing to go out to the garage to wrap it all. I'm running out of time!!!! Which seems to be my motto lately!