Trick-Or-Treat & Birthday Sweets! Oct 2013 PTR *NEW* 11/4 TR Link Posted!

[debrapagliasotti]

I'm here! Cant wait to hear what you guys are planning for Paxton's b-day this year!!

 

[alyssaswish]

We will be at WDW Oct 19 - 26th! Maybe we'll see you there! Planning on going to MNSSHP also.

 

[dramaqueenemj22]

Hello, Your family is adorable and I love reading about families with young children going to Disney because there excitement is always adorable. I'm going to be subbing in. I also will try and catch up on your TR.

Thanks for sharing.

 

[disneybarbie]

Subscribing


Emma

 

[khertz]

Your family is beautiful! We will be in the world a few dates as you. Can't wait to read more

Thank you & thanks for joining in!

I'm here! Cant wait to hear what you guys are planning for Paxton's b-day this year!!

Happy to see you, Debra! I'm excited to plan another birthday trip for him.

We will be at WDW Oct 19 - 26th! Maybe we'll see you there! Planning on going to MNSSHP also.

Yes, maybe our paths will cross! We are almost certain we will be going to the MNSSHP on Sunday the 27th. I'm really excited about it, it will be a first for all of us!

Hello, Your family is adorable and I love reading about families with young children going to Disney because there excitement is always adorable. I'm going to be subbing in. I also will try and catch up on your TR.

Thanks for sharing.

Aw, thank you so much! DS definitely does get excited, and I think he will even more so this year since he remembers so much from last trip and recognizes so many different characters.

Subscribing

Yay! Happy to see you, Emma!
Emma

 

[MEK]

Welcome to the party, Mary Ellen! Okay, so our plans are never 100% concrete until just before the trip, BUT...we will DEFINITELY be in Magic Kingdom on Paxton's birthday! No change in the crowd calendar or park hours is going to change that! So we definitely need to meet up!

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

We are doing CP breakfast with Denny's brother, SIL, their grown children, and our nephews two children - J who will probably be about 4 and is as cute as a button and their daughter who will be about 18 months. We didn't plan to be in WDW at the same time. They just recently announced those were their dates and I thought it would be so fun to see the kids at a CP breakfast. So we will start of with an MK day and then spend the whole next day at F&W.

I can't wait to meet your little birthday boy! It will be so fun to meet up and say hi!

 

[meggiebeth]

Joining in! Your DS is absolutely adorable! Ironically, we will be arriving the day you're leaving! Looking forward to reading more!

Meg~ Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[khertz]

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

We are doing CP breakfast with Denny's brother, SIL, their grown children, and our nephews two children - J who will probably be about 4 and is as cute as a button and their daughter who will be about 18 months. We didn't plan to be in WDW at the same time. They just recently announced those were their dates and I thought it would be so fun to see the kids at a CP breakfast. So we will start of with an MK day and then spend the whole next day at F&W.

I can't wait to meet your little birthday boy! It will be so fun to meet up and say hi!

We are planning to do a CP breakfast too! We are planning on before park opening for the breakfast, same as last year. It was such a nice way to start off the day, we figured why not do it again? That's so great that you will be able to see your family too since your trips coincide.

Joining in! Your DS is absolutely adorable! Ironically, we will be arriving the day you're leaving! Looking forward to reading more!

Meg~ Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Aww, thank you! And !

I'll have to go over to your PTR now.

 

[amazingact21]

Joining in!

 

[khertz]

Joining in!

Happy to see you here, Alicia!!

 

[khertz]

As an extended introduction of sorts, I thought I'd post some pictures of our family's Disney history. I finally got my hands on some photographs from some of our trips before we went digital to share also! So some of these photos have been posted on previous PTR's of mine, but a lot of them are totally new.

First up, I'll go with DH's first trip in 1989 with his parents. We found the photo album, and it looks like they also visited Sea World on that trip, and he even has a photo of Shamu pushing him around in his stroller. I tried to choose different pictures from this trip of his than I used for the last PTR.

Meeting Chip

I guess the obsession with this ride started early!

I chose this one because there is a similar one of my family from a trip of ours!​

After that trip, he went again in 1993 and 1999 but we don't have those pictures available to scan, because I think they were trips he took with just his dad.

As for me, my first trip happened in July of 1994 when I was 9 years old. My aunt and uncle asked me to go along with a CYO group they were traveling with. Thinking about it now, I'm sure that was hard for my parents to let me take my first trip to WDW without them! But we just didn't have the money at that time for a trip to WDW, so they let me go thinking it might be my one and only chance to visit there. If only we knew then what we know now, right?! lol That trip, we spent a day at each Disney park (MK, Epcot, and MGM), a day at Universal Studios, and a day at Busch Gardens. Because I was older, I had transitioned out of that "magical" age, and I know my aunt was frustrated a lot as I proclaimed a lot of attractions to be "for babies." But it was still a lot of fun and it was my first taste of Disney World!

Our first family trip came in 1998 after my mom got a new job. I was about 12, and my younger sister was 6, so she was a really great age for this trip. Me, not so much. In fact, I was hardly in any of the pictures! My sister was the only one interested in meeting characters. We went for Easter week, and it was REALLY busy! I remember going to Easter mass at the Contemporary as well from that trip. We stayed at the All Star Music resort for the first of many times.

A picture of my parents I took on one of the side streets on Main Street in front of the flower cart where they took a picture on their first trip together in the 70's!

Look how thrilled I am!

Remember that one of DH and his family? Here's ours! I had to laugh at a lot of the pictures because there was evidently no zoom feature on the camera that was used!​

Our next family trip was in 2001, and I had to REALLY struggle to find myself in any pictures from that trip! I remember having fun, I think I just didn't like having my picture taken. I was 15, and my sister was 9 and still excited about meeting characters, so she is in most of the pictures.

There I am on Splash Mountain

With my mom on a nondescript boat (I think we were going to FW for Hoop De Doo)

Hey, there I am fixing my hair in the library of ToT!​

The next trip we took as a family was in 2003 when I was a senior in high school and had just started dating DH. I was really excited when my parents said DH could come on the trip too! I know it pained him because we were going Mardi Gras week and that boy LOVES Mardi Gras, but he came anyway and we had a great time together! We stayed at the All Star Music resort again, this time in connecting rooms so we would have a little more space.

One of my FAVORITE pictures from the trip! We had dinner at 50's Prime Time, and when our waitress brought our drinks, DH gulped his Coke down so quickly that it was gone by the time she came back to take our order. She kept calling him Scooter, and asked him, "Are you really thirsty, Scooter?" She said she'd get him a refill and came back with a tray full of Cokes! He tried to drink them all just to show her he could, but alas, he couldn't!​

I went once more with my family in 2004, missing a few days of class my first year of college to visit at Mardi Gras again. That ended up being tough to make up, so I had to miss out on a couple of family trips after that.

My first time eating at Sci-Fi!

So glad we got to experience riding in the front of the monorail once!
​

It was a few years after that before we were able to go back to Disney World, this time for our honeymoon in 2007! It was our first time going in the fall, and our first time seeing the parks decorated for Halloween. Neither of us even knew they did such a thing! It was an AMAZING trip, made even more so by the wonderful CM's who spoiled us because of our Just Married buttons. We stayed at the Port Orleans French Quarter and absolutely loved it there. This really sparked our love for Disney World, and after this trip, we couldn't WAIT to go back! It was a totally new experience from going with family.

After that trip, I joined the DIS and realized we had missed out on so many things because we just didn't know any better! But we still had a fantastic trip, and I soon began planning when we would get to go to Disney World for Christmas, and that's where my first TR comes in, so I won't start reposting photos from those trips.

We next visited in early December 2009, our first trip offsite at Bonnet Creek, and we traveled with my parents and DH's mom and stepdad. It was so amazing seeing the parks dressed up for the holidays for the first time! That was supposed to be our last trip until our kids were older. (More Fun Than Sitting at Home! Our Dec 2009 TR) But then DH was bitten by the Vinylmation bug and we took a quick weekend trip while I was 6 months pregnant so he could buy and collect some. We only visited MK and DHS that trip, and it was blisteringly hot since it was the end of July/beginning of August. (Babymoon Trip In Search of VINYLS! Jul/Aug TR)

When we came home, we decided we just couldn't wait until DS was older to take him on his first trip, so we took him shortly after his first birthday in November 2011. It was a fantastic trip, and we loved every laugh, every dance, every character meet with DS. (1st Trip as Mommy & Daddy Nov 2011 TR). An opportunity arose to take DS on his (and my!) first trip to Disneyland in May of 2012 when he was about 18 months old, and it was another fantastic experience. He enjoyed pretty much everything we did, and it was really a perfect trip. Loved seeing World of Color for the first time! But we were disappointed that we were just a little too early for the reveal of Cars Land at DCA. (The WDW Vets Head West! A DL May 2012 TR).

Our 5th wedding anniversary approached, and we had those beautiful Golden Tickets (aka Premier Annual Passports) in our hand, so we decided to spend a few days back in California at DL and DCA just the two of us! It was great to go back and get to experience the parks alone, but we missed DS. One huge perk of going back the same year was getting to see Cars Land! (We Need More Cowbell! Aug 2012 TR)

And finally, that catches us up to our most recent trip. The reason we had gotten AP's in the first place was because we knew after taking him on his first trip in 2011 that we would want to take him back around his 2nd birthday in 2012. It would save us money to get the AP's as long as our trip happened before the AP expired, so we chose the week of DS's 2nd birthday in 2012 for our next trip. What else can I say? It was perfect, magical, amazing, wonderful, and oh so special to spend DS's birthday in WDW! (Show Me Your Smolder! October 2012 B-Day TR).

Hope you enjoyed that little walk down our Disney Memory Lane! I can't wait to keep adding to the list.

 

[dtr_angel]

What a great post, thanks for sharing! I especially loved the blast from the past cool pics!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[leshunlenese]

HI! Even though I am very behind and trying to play catch up on your last TR, I am around! I must say that I love how you have consistently the past few times start a new PTR as soon as a TR is finished!

 

[khertz]

What a great post, thanks for sharing! I especially loved the blast from the past cool pics!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Thanks! It was fun getting to go back and look at the pictures, but I was a little sad at my apparent lack of involvement! I always remember being excited for Disney trips, but apparently I wasn't so excited about being with my "annoying family" for a week.

HI! Even though I am very behind and trying to play catch up on your last TR, I am around! I must say that I love how you have consistently the past few times start a new PTR as soon as a TR is finished!

Hey girl, I'm glad you're here!! I like to start my PTR right after the TR so I don't lose people in the shuffle. After this TR though, we won't be back to Disney World for more than a year though, so I don't think there will be a PTR to immediately follow.

 

[afwdwfan]

That trip, we spent a day at each Disney park (MK, Epcot, and MGM), a day at Universal Studios, and a day at Busch Gardens. Because I was older, I had transitioned out of that "magical" age, and I know my aunt was frustrated a lot as I proclaimed a lot of attractions to be "for babies."

I can understand that. I had kind of that same opinion of a lot of the things there when we went on our trips in the 90's. Just something about being that age and thinking you're too cool for some of that stuff.

We went for Easter week, and it was REALLY busy!

Wow... your first family trip was Easter Week and you went back????

Look how thrilled I am!

That's about how thrilled I'd look at a Hanson concert.

Hope you enjoyed that little walk down our Disney Memory Lane! I can't wait to keep adding to the list.

Definitely! A lot of my greatest memories are from trips we took in the 80's and 90's. I love seeing pictures from that era and seeing how your family's Disney obsession started and evolved.

We went in 1994 and 1998 also, so when you were talking about those trips, I was sitting here trying to think of when we went. I think in 1994, we went over the week of July 4, so I guess we went at almost as busy a time as your Easter week trip. I think 1998 would have been the end of July/early August.

 

[skier_pete]

I forget what a young 'un you are. You were 12 in 1998. DW (then GF) and I took our first trip together in 1997... when we were in our mid-twenties. Yuk, you just made me feel old Khertz!

Nice walk down memory lane, though. So cute seeing the younger pictures of you and DH. Makes me want to dig out some oldies from my photo albums.

I have VERY few pictures from my Disney youth. I just came across not too long ago a photo album from when we went in 1983 - which was when I was 13. It was right after Epcot opened, and we must've blown the bank on film because I have like 40-50 pictures from that visit, but not too many of me. That was the last visit prior to 1997, so there was a 14-year gap between trips. Can't imagine ever going more than 2 or 3 now.

Other than that I know of ONE picture of me from my many childhood trips there. It's possible there are slides in existence somewhere covering that time period, I just don't know about them. (Yup - the seventies people still took a LOT of slides.)

Also funny, I got to when you were talking about 2009 - and said to myself "Oh, I already know all this stuff"

 

[Leger13]

Love all the old pictures!! and revisiting old trips. Always fun to go back and think of those trips again. Like you we didn't know any better for our honeymoon. I only have pics of our resort from our honeymoon actually lol! Anyways, thanks for sharing

 

[khertz]

I can understand that. I had kind of that same opinion of a lot of the things there when we went on our trips in the 90's. Just something about being that age and thinking you're too cool for some of that stuff.

It makes me so sad to think about it now, that I didn't "make the most" of my trips when I was little. But I'm definitely making up for it now.

Wow... your first family trip was Easter Week and you went back????

I know! Although I'm pretty sure that's why we never went back that week and switched to always going Mardi Gras week instead.


That's about how thrilled I'd look at a Hanson concert.

Don't knock it till you've tried it!

Definitely! A lot of my greatest memories are from trips we took in the 80's and 90's. I love seeing pictures from that era and seeing how your family's Disney obsession started and evolved.

We went in 1994 and 1998 also, so when you were talking about those trips, I was sitting here trying to think of when we went. I think in 1994, we went over the week of July 4, so I guess we went at almost as busy a time as your Easter week trip. I think 1998 would have been the end of July/early August.

When we went in July '94 it was towards the end of the month according to the date stamp on the pictures. Most of what I remember from that trip was that it was HOT and we stood in LONG lines for everything. I hardly remember riding Back to the Future at Universal, but I sure remember standing in that line!! The one I do remember distinctly was my first ride on ToT and that I was brave enough to ride but my uncle hopped out of line and wouldn't ride.

I forget what a young 'un you are. You were 12 in 1998. DW (then GF) and I took our first trip together in 1997... when we were in our mid-twenties. Yuk, you just made me feel old Khertz!

Nice walk down memory lane, though. So cute seeing the younger pictures of you and DH. Makes me want to dig out some oldies from my photo albums.

I have VERY few pictures from my Disney youth. I just came across not too long ago a photo album from when we went in 1983 - which was when I was 13. It was right after Epcot opened, and we must've blown the bank on film because I have like 40-50 pictures from that visit, but not too many of me. That was the last visit prior to 1997, so there was a 14-year gap between trips. Can't imagine ever going more than 2 or 3 now.

Other than that I know of ONE picture of me from my many childhood trips there. It's possible there are slides in existence somewhere covering that time period, I just don't know about them. (Yup - the seventies people still took a LOT of slides.)

Also funny, I got to when you were talking about 2009 - and said to myself "Oh, I already know all this stuff"

Sorry for making you feel old, Pete! It happens to me now, and I totally understand everyone who used to say that to me when I was growing up. The little girl I used to babysit when she was 2 and I was a freshman in high school is now a freshman herself!

You know, you made me think of something...I forgot about the price of film!! I was really astounded by how few pictures we have of those early trips, but I'm sure that's why. It really makes you appreciate digital and being able to delete accidental photos, because there were a bunch of pictures in the album that I wondered what in the heck were my parents trying to take a picture of?

Slides! You just made me feel young again!

Yep, hard to believe we have been following each others trips for 3+ years now!

Love all the old pictures!! and revisiting old trips. Always fun to go back and think of those trips again. Like you we didn't know any better for our honeymoon. I only have pics of our resort from our honeymoon actually lol! Anyways, thanks for sharing

Thanks, Carla! I was really saddened by a lot of the things we didn't know when planning our honeymoon. We totally would have gone to a MNSSHP! But having never traveled during the fall or winter, we didn't even know the hard ticket parties existed. Now that I got into scrapbooking, I go into every trip in "scrapbooking mode" and I know what pictures would make a great page in the book. Wasn't thinking like that on our honeymoon, so I didn't get pictures of really special moments, like my very first plane ride EVER! As long as I don't make the same mistakes with Paxton, I'll be okay with it, though.

 

[afwdwfan]

When we went in July '94 it was towards the end of the month according to the date stamp on the pictures. Most of what I remember from that trip was that it was HOT and we stood in LONG lines for everything. I hardly remember riding Back to the Future at Universal, but I sure remember standing in that line!! The one I do remember distinctly was my first ride on ToT and that I was brave enough to ride but my uncle hopped out of line and wouldn't ride.

You make a very good point. I don't know if it was just that it was so crowded back then as compared to recent years or if the FP system made things better, but I remember lines being crazy! There were long waits for anything. Now I'm spoiled by FP's and shorter lines. If it is longer than 20 minutes, I'm not going to wait. I guess it is hard to compare, but I'm sure we went late July in 98 and then late July again in 2008 and there was a definite different feel to the crowd between those trips.

And I remember that line for Back to the Future, also. That is one loooooooooong queue. I still remember the Doc Brown video that played while you waited. I wonder how many times I've seen that thing start to finish?

 

[khertz]

You make a very good point. I don't know if it was just that it was so crowded back then as compared to recent years or if the FP system made things better, but I remember lines being crazy! There were long waits for anything. Now I'm spoiled by FP's and shorter lines. If it is longer than 20 minutes, I'm not going to wait. I guess it is hard to compare, but I'm sure we went late July in 98 and then late July again in 2008 and there was a definite different feel to the crowd between those trips.

And I remember that line for Back to the Future, also. That is one loooooooooong queue. I still remember the Doc Brown video that played while you waited. I wonder how many times I've seen that thing start to finish?

FP has totally spoiled me, which is why I am really not thrilled about FP+ and I'm hoping regular FP remains an option. 25-30 minutes is my max, and that's even pushing it. With FP and Single Rider and Child Swap...there's just no reason to wait that long!!

Oh man, that Back to the Future line was killer! The queues I remember the most besides that one were for the King Kong ride, Splash Mountain, and ToT.