disneydreamer21
disneydreamer
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2007
- Messages
- 44
Okay, so this is my very first attempt at writing one of these. In fact, I've never been to WDW before! Growing up, my parent's idea of a "family vacation" was driving 30 miles to Six Flags for the day, and maybe staying at a Howard Johnson for one night. I don't think I even knew that a place like WDW even existed. To put it short and sweet, I was neglected as a child when it came to vacationing. So I've made it my personal goal to make sure that I do NOT follow in my parent's footsteps. In fact, I've actually convinced my parents to come along for the trip, and let's face it, with three kids, I'll need all the help I can get.
I'll introduce myself first. I'll call myself "Dee Dee" -- a preschool teacher in my late twenties with three kiddos, almost 7, almost 4, and almost 2. I started having kids early, I figure I'll have an early retirement this way, but in reality, I'll be so tired by the time I'm 45, there's no way I'll want to go to Rome. I've decided to settle for all the exotic lands at Epcot instead, close enough! I've always wanted to go to DW. Although I can't say I'm one of those crazy Disney fans, I love vacations and seeing different places I've never been. I love the smell of a clean hotel room, and the feeling you get when you are stepping off the plane into a new city to explore. I love to pack my suitcase and anticipate what I'll need for a trip. Most of all, I love dreaming about the fun I'll have, the memories I'll create with my family, and the excitement I will see in my children's eyes when they are creating memories of their own.
Now, let's introduce the "Gang":
My firstborn is "Belle" -- a true disney fanatic. Loves everything princess, but is also a huge "thrill seeker." Loves big rides, scary stuff, and is my firstborn, so she thinks she deserves just about anything she wants. She has seen the commercials and has begged me to go to DW for at least a couple of years. We took her to Disneyland when she was four and she has her picture with Cinderella framed on her dresser. She's a big, bad first grader and has learned to write her own stories now. So, I'm thumbing through them one day and it's a long, drawn out story of how she's going to WDW. (We hadn't even thought about it then) It took me a while to figure out what she was writing about because she spelled Disney "D-E-E Z-N-E-Y" in her journal, oh too cute! She has a very active imagination, that one. I think I even read a story about her getting "highlights" in her hair once. She is way too eager to be like her mommy. Anyway, after reading her little story, I took it upon myself to check it out. After all, the commercials do say that a family of four can go for $1600.
Kiddo #2 we'll call "Stitch." This is primarily because he is a very active almost 4 year old. Crazy, wild, but also my "cuddle bug." He is as sweet as he is wiley. He loves the power rangers. He has the gear. He has the action figures. He has the mask. He has the movies. He even has the moves. (This is all due to Christmas gifts from loving grandparents who couldn't come up with anything else creative to buy him.) So he is obsessed. He also likes Spiderman, but usually has the Power Rangers fighting a battle with him and ultimately winning in the end. He likes rides and is so excited to go! I just hope he will remember something from the trip- being four years old, I'm just not sure.
Kiddo #3 we'll call Mickey. That's because I have nothing creative to call him. He'll be two in August. He is a "wanna-be" four year old. Always trying to keep up with his big brother. We are leaving for our trip right before he turns two in order to get a "free flight" for him. I know he won't remember a thing but he absolutely loves the outdoors. If I even attempt to open our back door to the backyard, he darts for it. When I don't let him out, it's a fit-throwing tantrum every time. He'll love DW simply because he'll be outside. He's a really well-adjusted toddler. I thought about not taking him, but I would just be way too sad to leave him behind. I know he'll love every minute of it!
Kiddo #4: Okay, by now you're wondering, "I thought she only had 3!" but you were mistaken. I also have a 30 year old child that I sometimes call "honey" or "hubby." But really he's more of a child than a husband. I laugh when I read the trip reports calling their husbands "grumpy" because this is primarily my hubby's feeling on WDW. It's not because he doesn't want to go, it's just he is a stingy, money-hungry kind of guy. I love him to pieces, but he absolutely hates to spend money. Period. He's the kind of guy that is way too practical to be normal. No new furniture, no new cars, no new clothes, "Why buy them new when used is so much cheaper?" I shop at garage sales and second hand stores alot. Thank goodness my mom works at a department store, or I would be in serious trouble when it came to a wardrobe. I could call him "Scrooge" but he isn't selfish with his money, he just really hates to spend it on stuff he would consider "frivolous." When I mentioned WDW, he pretty much said no way. I'm convinced it's only because he couldn't figure out a way to buy a "second-hand" vacation. They don't come used. Only brand-spanking new! By the time I figured this out, I pretty much decided he wouldn't get his cheap way when it came to a vacation. I was finally going to put my second-hand foot down.
So, I start to research. I get on the Internet, I call travel agencies, I buy the Unofficial guide. (Brand new, by the way) We have a ton of reward points through Marriott to use up and have a couple of free nights to spend. I find round trip airfare tickets for around 350 pp. It's still not cheap enough. I can't break the news to hubby until the numbers are just right, but I start to lay the seeds. "Hey honey, did you know we have two free nights with our Marriott rewards to pretty much any hotel we want?" His response, "No." My response, "We could go on a trip this summer and use them." His response: "Sounds good." Right then, he was probably thinking of a four day weekend to San Antonio or Dallas. Little does he know.... a few days later: "Hey honey, can you believe "Belle" is going to be seven in a few months? She is already out-growing her Disney princess stuff. She's started asking for "Bratz" dolls instead!" (which I refuse to buy) His response: "Really?" My response, "It's so sad.... my little girl is growing up all too fast!" His response, ..... silence.
A few weeks pass, and I'm determined to go. I start by mentioning it to my parents. They've never been anywhere. I mean that literally. They do not go on vacations. I think they went on a cruise when I was 5 for a business trip for my dad and my mom threw up the whole time. That was the end of it for them. My whole reasoning is that hubby will want to go if someone else thinks it's a good idea. I know I can convince mom. She's my best friend and my partner in crime. If she and dad go, then hubby will be "suckered" into agreeing. So me and mom begin deliberating. Then suddenly it happens. The promotion for one-way airfare for $88. That means less than $200 round trip for everyone! There has never been cheaper airfare that I've seen. I call mom. We plan our attack.
More on the attack later.....I have dishes to do.
I'll introduce myself first. I'll call myself "Dee Dee" -- a preschool teacher in my late twenties with three kiddos, almost 7, almost 4, and almost 2. I started having kids early, I figure I'll have an early retirement this way, but in reality, I'll be so tired by the time I'm 45, there's no way I'll want to go to Rome. I've decided to settle for all the exotic lands at Epcot instead, close enough! I've always wanted to go to DW. Although I can't say I'm one of those crazy Disney fans, I love vacations and seeing different places I've never been. I love the smell of a clean hotel room, and the feeling you get when you are stepping off the plane into a new city to explore. I love to pack my suitcase and anticipate what I'll need for a trip. Most of all, I love dreaming about the fun I'll have, the memories I'll create with my family, and the excitement I will see in my children's eyes when they are creating memories of their own.
Now, let's introduce the "Gang":
My firstborn is "Belle" -- a true disney fanatic. Loves everything princess, but is also a huge "thrill seeker." Loves big rides, scary stuff, and is my firstborn, so she thinks she deserves just about anything she wants. She has seen the commercials and has begged me to go to DW for at least a couple of years. We took her to Disneyland when she was four and she has her picture with Cinderella framed on her dresser. She's a big, bad first grader and has learned to write her own stories now. So, I'm thumbing through them one day and it's a long, drawn out story of how she's going to WDW. (We hadn't even thought about it then) It took me a while to figure out what she was writing about because she spelled Disney "D-E-E Z-N-E-Y" in her journal, oh too cute! She has a very active imagination, that one. I think I even read a story about her getting "highlights" in her hair once. She is way too eager to be like her mommy. Anyway, after reading her little story, I took it upon myself to check it out. After all, the commercials do say that a family of four can go for $1600.
Kiddo #2 we'll call "Stitch." This is primarily because he is a very active almost 4 year old. Crazy, wild, but also my "cuddle bug." He is as sweet as he is wiley. He loves the power rangers. He has the gear. He has the action figures. He has the mask. He has the movies. He even has the moves. (This is all due to Christmas gifts from loving grandparents who couldn't come up with anything else creative to buy him.) So he is obsessed. He also likes Spiderman, but usually has the Power Rangers fighting a battle with him and ultimately winning in the end. He likes rides and is so excited to go! I just hope he will remember something from the trip- being four years old, I'm just not sure.
Kiddo #3 we'll call Mickey. That's because I have nothing creative to call him. He'll be two in August. He is a "wanna-be" four year old. Always trying to keep up with his big brother. We are leaving for our trip right before he turns two in order to get a "free flight" for him. I know he won't remember a thing but he absolutely loves the outdoors. If I even attempt to open our back door to the backyard, he darts for it. When I don't let him out, it's a fit-throwing tantrum every time. He'll love DW simply because he'll be outside. He's a really well-adjusted toddler. I thought about not taking him, but I would just be way too sad to leave him behind. I know he'll love every minute of it!
Kiddo #4: Okay, by now you're wondering, "I thought she only had 3!" but you were mistaken. I also have a 30 year old child that I sometimes call "honey" or "hubby." But really he's more of a child than a husband. I laugh when I read the trip reports calling their husbands "grumpy" because this is primarily my hubby's feeling on WDW. It's not because he doesn't want to go, it's just he is a stingy, money-hungry kind of guy. I love him to pieces, but he absolutely hates to spend money. Period. He's the kind of guy that is way too practical to be normal. No new furniture, no new cars, no new clothes, "Why buy them new when used is so much cheaper?" I shop at garage sales and second hand stores alot. Thank goodness my mom works at a department store, or I would be in serious trouble when it came to a wardrobe. I could call him "Scrooge" but he isn't selfish with his money, he just really hates to spend it on stuff he would consider "frivolous." When I mentioned WDW, he pretty much said no way. I'm convinced it's only because he couldn't figure out a way to buy a "second-hand" vacation. They don't come used. Only brand-spanking new! By the time I figured this out, I pretty much decided he wouldn't get his cheap way when it came to a vacation. I was finally going to put my second-hand foot down.
So, I start to research. I get on the Internet, I call travel agencies, I buy the Unofficial guide. (Brand new, by the way) We have a ton of reward points through Marriott to use up and have a couple of free nights to spend. I find round trip airfare tickets for around 350 pp. It's still not cheap enough. I can't break the news to hubby until the numbers are just right, but I start to lay the seeds. "Hey honey, did you know we have two free nights with our Marriott rewards to pretty much any hotel we want?" His response, "No." My response, "We could go on a trip this summer and use them." His response: "Sounds good." Right then, he was probably thinking of a four day weekend to San Antonio or Dallas. Little does he know.... a few days later: "Hey honey, can you believe "Belle" is going to be seven in a few months? She is already out-growing her Disney princess stuff. She's started asking for "Bratz" dolls instead!" (which I refuse to buy) His response: "Really?" My response, "It's so sad.... my little girl is growing up all too fast!" His response, ..... silence.
A few weeks pass, and I'm determined to go. I start by mentioning it to my parents. They've never been anywhere. I mean that literally. They do not go on vacations. I think they went on a cruise when I was 5 for a business trip for my dad and my mom threw up the whole time. That was the end of it for them. My whole reasoning is that hubby will want to go if someone else thinks it's a good idea. I know I can convince mom. She's my best friend and my partner in crime. If she and dad go, then hubby will be "suckered" into agreeing. So me and mom begin deliberating. Then suddenly it happens. The promotion for one-way airfare for $88. That means less than $200 round trip for everyone! There has never been cheaper airfare that I've seen. I call mom. We plan our attack.
More on the attack later.....I have dishes to do.
That is something I miss from living in Louisiana. They just don't know how to make that kind of stuff up here in Washington. 
