Pre Trip:
After our last trip in July 2001, I just knew it would be years and years before we would make it back to Disney World. The kids were getting bigger and would have their summers busy, we needed to set aside more money for college, the expense of going to Florida, etc.. All of the excuses that I could think of to justify why we would not be back anytime soon. I had myself convinced that the last time we went was the grand daddy of all trips. We blew the wad. We did it all. Any trip after that one would pale by comparison. After all it was our daughters first trip and our oldest sons last trip before college. There was something romantic and magical about thinking of it in those terms. Nothing could be finer than the 10 days that we spent merrily lost in magic. Things have a habit of changing though.
Last year we did a fairly cheap vacation and drove to Colorado. At least I thought it was fairly cheap. My wife accuses me of scrimping on everything but vacations. When it comes to vacation time, I just go crazy. Nice meals and all of the attractions that you can possibly cram in to a day. My best friends dad had a philosophy on vacations. He would always say, This is my vacation, Im paying for it, and you better have fun. After all, isnt that what vacations are all about? I dont think I have ever taken a relaxing vacation in my life. Im always trying to fit as much into each day as I can. I figure I can sleep at home. Now we always have a great time, but it is definitely not rest and relaxation much to the rest of my families objections. O.K., maybe we do slip in some rest once in awhile. Anyway, my mom decided that she would like to join us on this cross country trek to Colorado. Everyone should have to go on a vacation with their parent(s) at least once after they have grown up and moved out on their own. It will reaffirm all of those reasons why you moved away from home to begin with. Now, this was a trip we made every summer as a kid. She felt like she was missing out on some of those activities that we did as a family, especially after my dad died a few years ago. Since she also lives quite away from us and we dont get together that often, it was a way to spend some time with the grandkids. We always went to the same places it seemed like every year. Seven Falls, Royal Gorge, Garden of the Gods, and the North Pole Theme Park. I always had great memories of these trips as a kid. We even stayed in the same motel room every year. It was time to share some of those memories with my kids. And my mom was along for the ride to make sure that I got everything right. So, we left on this adventure and quickly decided that there is nothing better than six people with all their luggage packed in a minivan driving across Kansas in the middle of the summer. Dust storms, hail, heat, wind. We hit everything that a postman dreads driving across Kansas. Eventually we did make it across the prairie only to discover that the entire state was not on fire after all. If you remember, last year was all of the drought and fires throughout the state. We spent a week hiking, horseback riding, and whitewater rafting through Colorado. We made some unforgettable memories in Estes Park, Leadville, and Colorado Springs. Somewhere along the line we did manage to slip in those memories of a kid. We did visit Seven Falls, Garden of the Gods, and the North Pole. Despite all the dynamics of spending that much time together, we really did have a good time.
Upon returning, my mother-in-law requested that she go on vacation with us the next year so that she can spend some time with the grandkids also. We talked about it for a little while and she suggested of all places, Disney World. Now how would I even sleep at night if I didnt give her this chance to spend quality time with the grandkids? Her daughter may divorce me for even the thought of performing such a cruel act. Truth is, we had been talking about it even before she suggested it. Our twentieth wedding anniversary was this year and we had talked about going on a cruise, just the two of us. Sounds romantic doesnt it? After we talked about it some more, we decided that while it would be nice to do the cruise, we can do that after the kids leave home. Lets take vacations together while we can. Our oldest will be a senior in high school and this may really be our last trip for awhile. I started kidding my wife that the 25th anniversary is the Silver anniversary, the 50th anniversary is Golden, but the 20th anniversary is Disney. So by July of 2002, Im already starting to make plans for next summer.
Me-Me (Mother-in-law) has not been to Disney World since it had just opened. All they had was the Magic Kingdom last time she was there and she didnt stay on property. In fact, her visit consisted of one day at the Magic Kingdom. Of course she has heard us talk of the great times that we have had there, seen the pictures and watched the videos. So here is my chance to plan a vacation that would let me share the magic of Disney World with a rookie. I immediately knew several things I wanted to do this trip and I also wanted to branch out a little bit and take in some other activities. My mind was just reeling with the possibilities. The last time we went, we didnt step foot outside of Disney properties the entire time we were there. Now I am not saying that is necessarily a bad thing. I just thought I would mix things up a little bit. At least the kids wont accuse me of doing the same thing every year. So as we worked through the details we finally decided that we would spend the first few days at Universal and then the rest of the time at Disney World.
There are certain logistical nightmares that you have to work through in situations like this. 2 adults, 3 kids, and a mother-in-law. A three generation vacation with parties flying in from two separate locations. MeMe will be flying to Florida from Texas while the rest of us fly in from Kansas City. There are not very many hotel rooms out there that sleep six people. Im not totally sure that you would want six people sleeping in the same room anyway. Couldnt you just imagine all the noises that might be heard? I had already worked through a lot of these problems last year when my mom went with us on vacation. Most facilities are simply geared for 4 people or less. You go above that number and things get really complicated quickly. Somewhere out there is a fortune just waiting for someone to design and build a hotel for large families at an affordable rate. Until then, we decided that it would be best to get two connecting rooms. One with a king bed for MeMe and our daughter to share, and a separate room with two beds for the boys and the parental units. Now my mother-in-law is not normally high maintenance except for the time it takes her to get ready each morning. So having two rooms with two bathrooms will be a necessity. One bathroom for the five of us to share and one bathroom for MeMe.
I am a planning junkie. I have spreadsheets, word documents, and calendars in my PDA of every day and how many days until we depart. What days I can call for each preferred seating so that I wont miss a beat. I hate being this way sometimes. I would love to be one of those people that just go with the flow and act as if the dont know any better and could care less. What a joy it must be to not worry about anything. To just blindly go through each day without a care in the world would be a wonder. Sorry, I got way off subject there. Eventually we decided to leave on June 11th (Wednesday) and return on the 21st (Saturday). It sounded like it was going to be such a long time until you actually start planning it out. I started immediately checking on airfares and hotels for the time that we were going. It just so happens that during this trip, Mitchy MaMa and Devo will be celebrating their birthdays. So lets see if Ive got all of this straight. We are having a three generational vacation that will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary, my wifes 40th birthday, my oldest sons 17th birthday, and immediately when we return home the rest of our birthdays in July. Throw in a hotel transfer partway through just for good measure. Piece of cake. Easy as pie. No task is too big for the super planner. I guess now would be a good time to introduce our little conglomerate of characters.
Cast:
Rawry: Thats me! 43
Mitchy Mama: My partner in Disney 39/40
Devo: The oldest son 16/17
JoJo: The middle child 13
Sissy: Her Highness 5
MeMe: Mother in Law ????
So there you have it. This is our merry little band. Im thinking about getting one of those flags on a stick and pretending that we are one of those Brazilian tour groups. Stay tuned as Im sure this three hour tour is only just beginning. Next stop ..Florida I hope...
After our last trip in July 2001, I just knew it would be years and years before we would make it back to Disney World. The kids were getting bigger and would have their summers busy, we needed to set aside more money for college, the expense of going to Florida, etc.. All of the excuses that I could think of to justify why we would not be back anytime soon. I had myself convinced that the last time we went was the grand daddy of all trips. We blew the wad. We did it all. Any trip after that one would pale by comparison. After all it was our daughters first trip and our oldest sons last trip before college. There was something romantic and magical about thinking of it in those terms. Nothing could be finer than the 10 days that we spent merrily lost in magic. Things have a habit of changing though.
Last year we did a fairly cheap vacation and drove to Colorado. At least I thought it was fairly cheap. My wife accuses me of scrimping on everything but vacations. When it comes to vacation time, I just go crazy. Nice meals and all of the attractions that you can possibly cram in to a day. My best friends dad had a philosophy on vacations. He would always say, This is my vacation, Im paying for it, and you better have fun. After all, isnt that what vacations are all about? I dont think I have ever taken a relaxing vacation in my life. Im always trying to fit as much into each day as I can. I figure I can sleep at home. Now we always have a great time, but it is definitely not rest and relaxation much to the rest of my families objections. O.K., maybe we do slip in some rest once in awhile. Anyway, my mom decided that she would like to join us on this cross country trek to Colorado. Everyone should have to go on a vacation with their parent(s) at least once after they have grown up and moved out on their own. It will reaffirm all of those reasons why you moved away from home to begin with. Now, this was a trip we made every summer as a kid. She felt like she was missing out on some of those activities that we did as a family, especially after my dad died a few years ago. Since she also lives quite away from us and we dont get together that often, it was a way to spend some time with the grandkids. We always went to the same places it seemed like every year. Seven Falls, Royal Gorge, Garden of the Gods, and the North Pole Theme Park. I always had great memories of these trips as a kid. We even stayed in the same motel room every year. It was time to share some of those memories with my kids. And my mom was along for the ride to make sure that I got everything right. So, we left on this adventure and quickly decided that there is nothing better than six people with all their luggage packed in a minivan driving across Kansas in the middle of the summer. Dust storms, hail, heat, wind. We hit everything that a postman dreads driving across Kansas. Eventually we did make it across the prairie only to discover that the entire state was not on fire after all. If you remember, last year was all of the drought and fires throughout the state. We spent a week hiking, horseback riding, and whitewater rafting through Colorado. We made some unforgettable memories in Estes Park, Leadville, and Colorado Springs. Somewhere along the line we did manage to slip in those memories of a kid. We did visit Seven Falls, Garden of the Gods, and the North Pole. Despite all the dynamics of spending that much time together, we really did have a good time.
Upon returning, my mother-in-law requested that she go on vacation with us the next year so that she can spend some time with the grandkids also. We talked about it for a little while and she suggested of all places, Disney World. Now how would I even sleep at night if I didnt give her this chance to spend quality time with the grandkids? Her daughter may divorce me for even the thought of performing such a cruel act. Truth is, we had been talking about it even before she suggested it. Our twentieth wedding anniversary was this year and we had talked about going on a cruise, just the two of us. Sounds romantic doesnt it? After we talked about it some more, we decided that while it would be nice to do the cruise, we can do that after the kids leave home. Lets take vacations together while we can. Our oldest will be a senior in high school and this may really be our last trip for awhile. I started kidding my wife that the 25th anniversary is the Silver anniversary, the 50th anniversary is Golden, but the 20th anniversary is Disney. So by July of 2002, Im already starting to make plans for next summer.
Me-Me (Mother-in-law) has not been to Disney World since it had just opened. All they had was the Magic Kingdom last time she was there and she didnt stay on property. In fact, her visit consisted of one day at the Magic Kingdom. Of course she has heard us talk of the great times that we have had there, seen the pictures and watched the videos. So here is my chance to plan a vacation that would let me share the magic of Disney World with a rookie. I immediately knew several things I wanted to do this trip and I also wanted to branch out a little bit and take in some other activities. My mind was just reeling with the possibilities. The last time we went, we didnt step foot outside of Disney properties the entire time we were there. Now I am not saying that is necessarily a bad thing. I just thought I would mix things up a little bit. At least the kids wont accuse me of doing the same thing every year. So as we worked through the details we finally decided that we would spend the first few days at Universal and then the rest of the time at Disney World.
There are certain logistical nightmares that you have to work through in situations like this. 2 adults, 3 kids, and a mother-in-law. A three generation vacation with parties flying in from two separate locations. MeMe will be flying to Florida from Texas while the rest of us fly in from Kansas City. There are not very many hotel rooms out there that sleep six people. Im not totally sure that you would want six people sleeping in the same room anyway. Couldnt you just imagine all the noises that might be heard? I had already worked through a lot of these problems last year when my mom went with us on vacation. Most facilities are simply geared for 4 people or less. You go above that number and things get really complicated quickly. Somewhere out there is a fortune just waiting for someone to design and build a hotel for large families at an affordable rate. Until then, we decided that it would be best to get two connecting rooms. One with a king bed for MeMe and our daughter to share, and a separate room with two beds for the boys and the parental units. Now my mother-in-law is not normally high maintenance except for the time it takes her to get ready each morning. So having two rooms with two bathrooms will be a necessity. One bathroom for the five of us to share and one bathroom for MeMe.
I am a planning junkie. I have spreadsheets, word documents, and calendars in my PDA of every day and how many days until we depart. What days I can call for each preferred seating so that I wont miss a beat. I hate being this way sometimes. I would love to be one of those people that just go with the flow and act as if the dont know any better and could care less. What a joy it must be to not worry about anything. To just blindly go through each day without a care in the world would be a wonder. Sorry, I got way off subject there. Eventually we decided to leave on June 11th (Wednesday) and return on the 21st (Saturday). It sounded like it was going to be such a long time until you actually start planning it out. I started immediately checking on airfares and hotels for the time that we were going. It just so happens that during this trip, Mitchy MaMa and Devo will be celebrating their birthdays. So lets see if Ive got all of this straight. We are having a three generational vacation that will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary, my wifes 40th birthday, my oldest sons 17th birthday, and immediately when we return home the rest of our birthdays in July. Throw in a hotel transfer partway through just for good measure. Piece of cake. Easy as pie. No task is too big for the super planner. I guess now would be a good time to introduce our little conglomerate of characters.
Cast:
Rawry: Thats me! 43
Mitchy Mama: My partner in Disney 39/40
Devo: The oldest son 16/17
JoJo: The middle child 13
Sissy: Her Highness 5
MeMe: Mother in Law ????
So there you have it. This is our merry little band. Im thinking about getting one of those flags on a stick and pretending that we are one of those Brazilian tour groups. Stay tuned as Im sure this three hour tour is only just beginning. Next stop ..Florida I hope...
.
.
