The 7 Dwarfs trip to D*i*s*n*e*y and beyond!

[Disneytwinz]

and welcome to our very first family trip report!

We just recieved our final documents on Friday with 34 days to go. It's official. We are going to Disney in May 2007!!!!

How our first trip came to be!​

Our 8th wedding anniversary this year~ destination Disney World!! We're driving to Florida. 1,000 miles one way. With 7 of us in one vehicle, we will be making plenty of stops along the way. What better time to visit than during the Flower and Garden Festival..which makes our anniversary trip even nicer!

Our plan was to go to Disney World about five years ago. It just never became a priority. Then my best friend went to Disney World in November 2005 with her family and after she told me all about her trip and shared her pictures, it gave me this nagging thought that we must make our plans for 2007! So I text messaged Dh a few days after our 2006 wedding anniversary:

Me:We should go to Disney next year, what do you think?" He is so easy-going...didn't surprise him at all. I think he knew it was coming.
Dh: "Ok, when?" lol My man

It's been almost a full year in the works. Alot of the fun for us is in the planning. So we included the kids in the fun with choosing Disney pins and brushing up on Disney trivia.
I don't have any idea how anyone can vacation in Disney without planning this out.

Next up: Cast of Characters

 

[Disneytwinz]

Onto our cast of characters​

Since I have so many followers, I better refrain from sharing all my Disney secrets and know-how, huh? haha

Anyhow, this is a bit about us-

Me: (Grumpy) The planner. I'm an avid scrapbooker. I grew up with a Disney fanatic in the house- my father. He dreamed of drawing Disney Characters for a living. Although he never made that actual dream a reality, he still made alot of kids hearts happy with his own drawings. Also, owning an antique shop, he collected Disney 'everything' to sell and to also kept in his own personal collection. So for me, Disney is a household name...a name that brings me comfort and many wonderful memories.
I can't wait to see the look on my kids faces when they see the sites in Disney- especially Mickey Mouse and Cindy's Castle!
My pre-trip favorite park is Magic Kingdom!

Dh: (Doc- only now he wears contacts) The O.T. king of all kings. He worked tons of overtime to help put the extra spending cashola into the Mickey jar! He says he has plans to take it all in slowly. Since we're at 30 days out now today, it's sinking in that we will be guests of the mouse in May! Time to change the oil and get the car serviced!

He's a kid at heart and great at directions... what more could a girl ask for?
Pre-trip favorite park is Magic Kingdom!

Ds: 18 (Sleepy- ::Yawn:- The wanderer of the World- or he will be, I just know it. An avid reader. He will help get us from here to there with his wonderful sense of direction. I thought for awhile there that he was not going to be able to make the trip because his grades plummeted. BUT he's worked a deal with his teachers and he'll be able to join us afterall. My sweet son that thinks the color black is not dark enough, will have to wear light colors due to the Florida heat or else suffer. Post trip, I can see myself jumping for joy with pictures in hand to prove that..yes indeed~ he will wear white after all these dark teen years!
His pre-trip favorite park is Epcot!

Ds: 8 (Sneezy He gets sick the most, poor kid. His idea of a good Disney vacation is 'Where's the best food?" haha The one child I thought that would head for the rides pronto is curious about what unusual foods there will be to feast on. He's his Dad's shadow all the way in that if something needs fixing, he's on it. He's our Boy Scout but hasn't quite learned how to get from here to there yet, he just wings it.
His favorite pre-trip park is Epcot!

Dd: 8 (Happy- & always a delight.) Twin to Ds 8- We like surround sound!
She is our most generous child. She's looking forward to giving out glow sticks to the other kids in the park. It's the way she has always been. She's got a huge heart and always looks for ways to make someone else's day better. It makes her happy. She's all things 'dance' and in her third year in dance. So if she can find that perfect stuffed Minnie dressed in dance attire- she's all about that!
Her favorite pre-trip park is Magic Kingdom!

Dd: 4 (Bashful- she's a bit shy at times.) She's helped mommy count down and has been super patient for a 4 year old. she loves animals and wants to know if we will see all the 'aMinals' at Disney. Not sure how she will take to the Disney characters in the parks because the Easter Bunny is a no go again this year.

Her pre-trip favorite park is Animal Kingdom!

Dd: 4 (Dopey- not because she's dopey of course lol, she's the youngest and dresses herself.) Twin to Dd 4 our second pair of double trouble. She knows what she wants and what she doesn't, while letting it be known. She isn't fond of Mr. bunny either. Her pre-trip favorite park is Animal Kingdom!

So that's our group in a nut shell. We're a big family, and we like it that way. We're never bored that's for sure!
So...30 days to go!!

Next up: Itinerary

 

[praisehisname]

Great start! Can't wait to read more!

Denise

 

[Disneytwinz]

Great start! Can't wait to read more!

Denise

Hiya Praisehisname , good to see you reading along! Once we get closer to trip time, I'm sure there will be alot to add.

 

[Disneytwinz]

Itinerary​

I figured I'd write out our itinerary for this trip. No other vacations (non-Disney) required me to do so. Well, not until I found the Dis board. We're not big followers, really. Plans would get thrown out of whack with 7 of us. 3 adults and 4 kids under age 8. We normally go with the flow of the day because for us, that's more relaxing anyway.

We're all getting excited! There are only 27 days until our trip... 27 days!! I made my kids a countdown using those good old Mickey paint chips once we hit 100 days. Yes, we're nuts Each has a little piece of Disney history, park, resort etc. trivia on it or name a character's name that starts with "each letter" for fill ins.That chain wrapped 1/2 way around my kitchen! We now have visitors and family counting down with us

I'm taking the lazy way out. Here's a copy of our itinerary, minus reservation numbers and times of course. Most of our dinners are late 6pm-7pm. The only thing I worry about is getting from here to there on time. Of course we're usually early but this is one of my Disney concerns. So I hope this page isn't too confusing. I used WordPad to make it and it has been such a big help. Sure made changing things around easier in the beginning. I think the only change we really had was Sci-Fi to 50's PrimeTime. I left that decision up to my oldest ds and he decided on 50's PrimeTime. So that's it on the itinerary for now. Hope you enjoy!

 

[Poohbear77]

Wow 2 sets of twins AND a 18 year old - YOU WIN!

Enjoying your pre-trippie, and can't wait for your trip report. We will leaving the day after you arrive on 5/6

Great job with the itinerary. Looks like you will have a wonderful trip!

Take care,
Dawn

PS: We are also driving straight through . We are leaving MD around 9pm on 4/27, expecting to arrive around 1pm on the 28th. Most people that I have told think we are a crazy- LOL Now I can say I am not the only one

 

[Marjol]

Hi!

We'll be at Disneyworld at the same time, but we won't be in the parks on the same days

I love reading pre-tripreports from people that are going at the same time, so I can compare notes when we get back!

And wow, two sets of twins!

 

[Disneytwinz]

Just a little creative update. Not much to write about besides the anticipation of the trip. So I will share the creative side of things.

Such as...
Autograph albums-

Sweet! Almost finished..except for the characters on the front and of course signatures. I'd like to decorate the front somehow. I just haven't gotten that far yet. So what do you think? We're going to get them signed by the characters. Then once we get them home, I'll transfer the cards into scrapbook pages for each of my kiddos. Did I mention I love to scrapbook? lol I am a scrapaddict. I made a bunch of pages that I plan to share. Actually there are a few on the Creative Designs section if you frequent there.

I also decided to make matching t-shirts for the whole family Thanks to the Creative community on the Dis. Here's a glimpse of them-

I hope these pictures are okay in size.
One more thing I made for the trip that I'd like to share. A Mickey Mouse tic tac Toe board.

That should keep them busy for 3 minutes!!

Well that's my update for now. The countdown is on! 3 weeks and 3 days to go!!! It's dragging guys!!

 

[Disneytwinz]

Wow 2 sets of twins AND a 18 year old - YOU WIN!

Enjoying your pre-trippie, and can't wait for your trip report. We will leaving the day after you arrive on 5/6

Great job with the itinerary. Looks like you will have a wonderful trip!

Take care,
Dawn

PS: We are also driving straight through . We are leaving MD around 9pm on 4/27, expecting to arrive around 1pm on the 28th. Most people that I have told think we are a crazy- LOL Now I can say I am not the only one

Thanks Dawn!
Oh too funny! I think I loose though...they have me out numbered!
I know what you mean about the drive. My best friend already told me she's going to tell me 'I told you so' when we get home (She meant that in a good way)
I'm determined to make the best of it. We've never driven this far before so it could be a challenge. We'll be staying over on the way down.
Maybe we'll run into each other!

 

[Disneytwinz]

Hi!

We'll be at Disneyworld at the same time, but we won't be in the parks on the same days

I love reading pre-tripreports from people that are going at the same time, so I can compare notes when we get back!

And wow, two sets of twins!

I hear you there. I found myself looking back on trip reports from last May. Looking for some ideas and wisdom.
Thanks for reading along, Marjol!!

 

[praisehisname]

Love, love, love the t-shirts!!! I may have to mosey on over to the Creative DISigns board and check that out...

Denise

 

[lazidazi07]

That tic tac toe board is SOOO cute. Did you buy the autograph books made like that, or did you do that yourself? I want to make one...but not really sure how to go about it.. I'm excited for your trip report, you look so creative! My favorite!

 

[Disneytwinz]

It's been awhile since I've updated.

Our 1,000 mi. drive was actually not bad most of the way. We had fun and it didn't bother us one bit, it wasn't hard at all like we were warned. I found out, alot of things we were 'warned' about before our trip, turned out the opposite for us this trip.
We missed our first day at Disney and our Chef Mickey reservation
that night due to our van breaking down unexpectedly in South Carolina. But we sure made up for it later on in the trip!
Our first day at Disney... when we arrived it was late night around
11:00-11:30pm. on May 5th. We were so thrilled to see those purple signs leading us to our resort- All Star Movies. It felt like a dream when we were checking in. Once we arrived, we unpacked and then checked out our resort a bit. Oh it was so neat... Although it was dark, it was quiet and we did manage to get some cute shots with the camera. The Buzz
Lightyear stands 35 feet tall. We ran into RC the race car and of course
the green army men, lots of other huge and unique Disney icons. What fun!! We were all like little kids and Dh and I are in our 30's.
We almost didn't want to go to bed that night. Of course we had to stop in
and have a bite to eat at our resort at the World Premiere Food Court. It was very good. Although we found the dining plan already confusing with 7 people and connecting rooms. I'm glad we figured it out late at night, instead of holding up the line!
Afterwards, we went back to our resort, for the next day was going to be a really busy one!!


Tomorrow: Magic Kingdom and pictures to follow!

 

[praisehisname]

Glad to hear you had a great time! Can't wait to hear more and see some pictures!!!

Denise