The Ever Evolving Disney Holiday- UPDATE: Had to cancel the trip.

jonslola

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 20, 2007
Messages
301
:sad1: Episode 1 : We're gonna do what?!?

Well, I guess I'll start at the begining:

v1. In the begining Walt created the Magic Kingdom and the monorail
v2. And Walt said, "Let there be magic" and there was magic
v3. And Walt saw the magic, that it was good, so he built another park.....

Ok, maybe not THAT far back, just back to October 2006. That was our first family vacation to WDW. I had been once before in 1996 (when I fell in love with Disney:love: ), but we had no children then, so we were thrilled to take our kids. The trip went pretty well, except that DH had pneumonia :sick:
(we didn't know) and felt bad all week. But we still had a nice time.

The kids of course asked then, "Can we go back again next year?" to which my DH and I replied, "No, Disney is expensive, so maybe we can go every other year." And we really did mean it, so we set our sights on 2008.:thumbsup2

New Years 2007 rolled around and I began thinking of the upoming year, then tragedy struck. BOTH of my husband's grandparents passed away within 2 weeks of each other.:eek: :sad1: His grandfather was also our pastor, so it was a big hit to our family and our church family. Needless to say we were pretty low. I then had the thought that we needed something fun to look foward to. It just so happens that both DH and I turn the big 3-0 this year, so I started looking into a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate. :woohoo:

I got on line and checked prices.:surfweb: What happened to all these "cheap" Vegas trips H hear about? I couldn't believe how much one weekend was going to cost, yuck!:scared1: I talked to my DH about it, and could not believe what he said about it. Ok, are you ready for this? He said,"I'd rather spend a little more and take the kids back to Disney."

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:


Ok, I was a little light headed and there were butterflies in my stomach. I was waiting for the "But we really can't do that anyway" to come, but it DIDN'T. So I said we should look into it and before I knew it, my DH was online writing down options and prices. WOW:rotfl: He was really excited about going! He even said he wanted to fly down(we drove the 16 hours down last year, ugh) At this point I realize my hubby is a closet Disney Fanatic. I also know he wants to go back since he was so sick last year and didn't enjoy it like he wanted. So, its off to Disney!

Next Episode: Who's going? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
 
I am sooo jealous... Oh, how I wish DH was a Disney fan, even a closet Disney fan... or a fan of any vacation! My DH sees the cost of any vacation I plan and cringes, no matter how cheap!!!
 
He so is coming to the Dark side.

For Our family I'm the one that Holds Disney high on my shirt sleeve and Dw is the well if we have to. Thank God I have DD on my side .
 
The "Family Vacation" turned "Tour Group"


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Last year at Epcot


At this point I'll introduce myself and my family going on the trip (Which is Oct. 13-20)

Me- :laundy: Mommy, Absent-minded Sunday School teacher(just ask my students), Lunch Lady(I love my job, really), Lover of parenthesis(get used to 'em), OCD Diser, OCD list maker, OCD planner, did I mention I'm slightly obsessive? But all in all I'm pretty laid back (as long as my plans are going well).


DH - pirate: We'll call him "Red", for obvious reasons, never met a stranger, total gamer, loud, outgoing, loves to laugh, and thinks I'm the next best thing to carmel topping!

DS - 10- :smickey: Let's call him "Ace" (I love this making up new names thing!) Highly intelligent, gamer, loves to read(he actually got in trouble for reading too much at SCHOOL, honest he did), smart, quiet but very funny, sarcastic (couldn't imagine where he got that) loves all the technological aspects of WDW, did I mention he's super smart?, Will someday be a Disney Imagineer.

DS- 8-:ewok: We have to call him "Bean" since that's his nickname anyway, loves to cook, loves to eat (vegetables and salad are his fav, he's a strange one, I know), football player, TERRIBLE temper, dislikes video games (because of the temper), sweet,cuddly and cute (I already have little girls calling the house). He will grow up to be a chef at a WDW restaurant. (He really does want to go to culinary school)

DD-7- princess: We'll call her "Linkle Dinkle", OK, no, she HATES when I call her that, we'll call her "Cindy" short for her favorite princess, Cinderella, Loves to cuddle, very prissy, girlie girl, very smart too, (her reading scores are almost as high as Ace's), odd sense of humor, she's the kind of person with really high intelligence, but walks into poles and says "blonde" things sometimes like wanting to be a fire truck when she grows up, (ok sweetie). We think she will either grow up to get the job being Dopey or she'll OWN WDW.

So now you're thinking, "Oh what a nice family! You guys are going to have a great vacation." Oh, this is where I tell you that our family NEVER does ANYTHING alone.:dance3: The joke in our family is "We Travel in Packs". Its never just DH, I and the kids when we go out to eat. The in-laws are there, the cousins are there, the friends from church are there, the friends' friends are there, well, you get the picture. Our outings grow faster than a Chia Pet!:grouphug: So our trip grew from 5 to 19. Yes, that's not a typo, 19.

Next Episode: Roll Call!
 

Who's all here? Well, besides my brood we have:

Group 1 - The inlaws - This one was a no-brainer for us. We've NEVER been on vacation without them. I am blessed to have wonderful and very fun, outgoing inlaws (maybe I should call them "outlaws"?) So we immediately called them up and asked if they wanted to go again, (yes, they went with us last year), Sure, sounded great to them, anything that involves the grankids if fine with them.

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In order, my Mom's husband (not involved in this trip), the kids and me, the inlaws spoken about above

Group 2 - Cousin Set 1 - Ok, as I mentioned earlier, I am a lunch lady and it just so happens that one of the students is my young cousin "muffy". So one day I say to her, "Hey, we're going to WDW in the fall, you should bug your mom about going with us!" A couple of days later I say to her mom, "tonga", "Did muffy ask you about WDW?" to which she replied, "I'd love to go, I think it would be fun!" So now we have Tonga, her dd muffy, ds "skills" and infant daughter "hungwy". Tonga also wants her DH, "muffin" and her grandma, "maw" to go, more on that later.


Group 3 - Cousin Set 2 - One day we were visiting DH's cousins, talking about our trip and say(As we always do to EVERYONE), "You guys should go with us!" They say, "We'd love too! We need to talk to our parents and see if they want to go." They did, and they did.(got that?) So this group is "Cereal", his DW "Princess", his DS "ZT", his other DS "CT" and his parents, "woody" and "belle". Ok, now the name thing is getting old, and I'll never remember them all.

Group 4 - BIL - Ok, he's not technically a "group", but my handsome (and single) BIL, "Jafar" wanted to go with us last year but couldn't, so he is happily joining us this time. So From now on we'll put him in Group 1.

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Handsome (and single!) BIL next to his friend at his birthday dinner.

Ok, at this point, literally as I am writing this, Tonga's DH , muffin, doesn't think he'll be going, we're hoping to change his mind by this evening. Tonga's "Maw" has decided not to go either. SO, if we include Muffin, we have 19. I won't bore you with the details, but 8 others (at least), were invited to go as well but cannot make it.:upsidedow

Now who is the lucky duck that gets to plan this grand Disney Holiday? Well, duh! OCD remember? Me! And I (think) I'm up to the challenge!

Next Episode: When, Where and How?
 
jonslola :wave:

I am loving this TR!!! It's great and I'm so happy it's right at the beginning so I can look forward to many more chapters. :thumbsup2

My deepest condolences to your DH on the loss of his grandparents. It sounds like you're a very close family so I'm sure that was a rough time for all of you. :hug:

says "blonde" things sometimes like wanting to be a fire truck when she grows up

Aw, that's cute. When my 10 year old was 5 he told me he wanted to be "a cutter outer" when he grew up - "I'll start a cutting out store where people will leave in their things to be cut out and collect them a few days later". He loved cutting paper with his little scissors so believed it could be a career. :goodvibes :lmao:

So our trip grew from 5 to 19. Yes, that's not a typo, 19.

:eek: You're a braver woman than I. It sounds like fun but honestly I don't think I'd have the kinda patience required to plan a trip to suit to many people though I admire anyone who can do it. :thumbsup2

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Last year at Epcot

Gorgeous family! :goodvibes

Oh I almost forgot.....
I talked to my DH about it, and could not believe what he said about it. Ok, are you ready for this? He said,"I'd rather spend a little more and take the kids back to Disney."

I LOVE your DH! :love: You don't mind do you? :lmao:

You're doing such a great job jonslola. Can't wait for more..... popcorn::
 
I'm so sorry about your grandparents. It's tough to lose someone so close. It looks like you have a very close-knit family. Sounds like a great trip and I'm excited to be on board from the beginning. Oh, maybe we should join you and make it 21!!;) Looking forward to more.
 
It's not an update - soon I promise - but I wanted to share something my DD said. I asked her, "Are you getting excited about going to Disney?" She replied, "Yes, I can't wait to drink orange juice on the plane!":sad2: No mention of seeing her favorite princess, no mention of rides, no mention of swimming. Nope she's excited about drinking orange juice.
 
It's not an update - soon I promise - but I wanted to share something my DD said. I asked her, "Are you getting excited about going to Disney?" She replied, "Yes, I can't wait to drink orange juice on the plane!":sad2: No mention of seeing her favorite princess, no mention of rides, no mention of swimming. Nope she's excited about drinking orange juice.
aww thats cute, im sure she will get more exited as the days go by!
 
WOW! 19 - I thougt 9 was tough, which is the number going on our next trip.

Looking forward to hearing more of your planning.
 
Ok, now we know everyone going. (Or DO we? :crazy2: I may have a couple of additions coming up soon, I'll let you know,when I know for sure).

When are we going? That's an easy one - October 13-20, 2007:banana:

How are we getting there? Last year we drove - 16 hours. :drive: Believe it or not, it wasn't THAT bad. The kids each had their own DVD player, Nintendo DS, snacks, Disney CD's, and an "Activity Bag". I would pull a surprise out every 2-3 hours so they would have something new to do or munch on. Sure, we could drive again, but honestly I'm afraid our van, with over 100,000, might not make it. So DH and I decided to fly, Group 1 (outlaws) wants to fly too. Group 2 (cousin set 1) also want to fly, Ok, they're in. Group 3 (cousin set2)- Uh, well, I'll give ya a hint, it also answers the next question, "Where are we staying?" Think you know? Gotta guess? You're probably right!

Where are we staying? Well, obviously a value resort is the best way to go here, so after much IN-DEPTH research (DISboards and UG):surfweb: :coffee: we decided on POP Century! Well, at least MOST of us are staying at POP. Remember how I mentioned Group 3 had different transportation? Well, if you guessed an RV, you win and all-expense paid vacation for your family at the deluxe resort of your choosing for 2 weeks with park hopper plus passes and that more expensive DDP (forgot the name),a fantasmic dinner package, dream fastpasses to all parks and Mickey will personally knock on your door in the morning to wake you up! pixiedust:

Ok, maybe not, but I wish I could give that to all of you, I really do!:love:

Here's the scoop:
1. Woody is retired and he and DW Belle want to purchase an RV for all their travels.
2. They do not currently own nor have they every owned and RV.
3.They plan on purchasing the RV this summer.
4.The trip to WDW, (16 hrs mind you) will be their FIRST trip in the RV
5. There will be 4 adults and 2 kids in the RV for the week at the campgrounds.
:rotfl2: :thumbsup2 :lmao: ::yes::

We tried to talk them out of it. Not because we dislike RVing, we just think it will be a little :crowded: and could you imagine how much gas is going to cost?:eek: Plus they will be far away from the rest of us (maybe that's a plus for them?) at FW. Woody would have none of this:snooty: and insists on doing the RV.

I feel sorry for Princess - cooped up with the in-laws all week- not especially "romantic", get my drift?:rolleyes1

So the rundown goes like this:
Oct 13-20
12 flying, 6 driving
12 @POP, 6 @FW

Ok you math whizzes, yes, that only adds up to 18, no 19. Tonga's DH could not be convinced to join us. However I did make ADR's for 19 so there is a little wiggle room there - just in case SOMEONE ELSE decides to join us.:upsidedow

Obviously when trying to plan for such a large group, you encounter a few bumps in the road. Here are the bumps I have hit so far:

1.Getting a definite "Yes we are going" form everyone
2.Imressing on the "non Disney obsessed" how important ADR's are.
3.Explaining WHAT ADR's are.:rolleyes2
4.Getting everyone to make their ressies.
5. Defining "ressies":rolleyes2
6. Fretting over the price for airfare I got through Disney's Group Air.What? You think I'm actually going to TELL you what we are paying? Not a chance! But at least everyone seemed OK with it - so it must not be too bad.
7.Making ADR's for 19 people and getting the times we wanted.

So far that's all I can think of.(Maybe I mentally blocked the really bad bumps!)

Next Episode - Mmmmmm, ADRs! and a "What do you think?"
 
Here are some pics from our trip last year:


On our way! We picked the kids up from school, can you tell it was "Colts" day?
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Bean "smoking" a Slim Jim. No, we don't smoke, none of our family smokes, must be that darn TV.:sad2:
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Here we are on the monorail, on the way to Magic Kingdom, I told the kids to look excited, not that they really needed prompting!:yay:

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Mommy and Cindy on the teacups, Cindy would not let me TOUCH the wheel, she didn't want to spin at all.
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Pull Ace, Pull!
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And this is why we MUST go to Crystal Palace every time!And to think, just a week before he was being a tough little football player, making some hard tackles!
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Me and DH, a nice lady offered to take this, she did a great job!Thank you nice lady!
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And finally, the beautiful Castle, maybe not a beautiful pic.

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There they are, more later!
 
I almost forgot one of cindy's comments this week! I had her take the cooler outside and set it on the patio. She came back in and said, "It smells like llamas out there.":confused3
 
Great new chapter jonslola and I *love* those pics!!! Your kids are adorable! :goodvibes As for the Crystal Palace pics - pure magic!! Wow!! You are really on top of the plans. Amazing.

Can't wait for more! :)
 
Just a little update, not much really. We've decided to pay the kids in Disney Dollars this summer for chores and such. Cindy is about to lose a tooth and she said she hopes the Tooth Fairy brings her a Disney Dollar!:eek: So the "Tooth Fairy" made a run to the Disney Store to pick up a few after work! They have Dumbo on them:dumbo: I also picked up a cute shirt for 4.99, its light blue with a classic Minnie Mouse on it and it says, "America's Sweetheart since 1928". I know, I know I'm supposed to be saving money. But it was only 4.99 and I really need t-shirts! Really , I do!
 
oK, so I'm a little bummed that I can't purchase our MNSSHP until next friday when DH gets paid. :sad1: But at least I know I WILL get them. I sent all my fellow travelers an email telling them about the tickets and prices and all. Now whether or not they take the hint, I do not know.

But I have been thinking about costumes. Picture this: 19 people walking en masse dressed as dalmatians!?! We would be so cute, especially since there are so many of us, pretty close to 101, don't ya think? Could you imagine the look on Cruella DeVille's face! I think its a grand idea, I hope I can get everyone to agree. I was thinking easy costumes, white t-shirts with black spots, ears and some face paint. We would be comfortable AND cute! If you guys have any more ideas I would love to hear them!
 












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