Vermonters Take on THE WORLD Pretrip
This here trip report is about 6 months late, but eh better late than never!
Cast of Characters
Me, 28 visited WDW WAY back in the early 80s. Compulsive planner
DH- 37. never been to WDW, HATES theme parks in general. Doesnt ask what were doing on vacation- just departs when we do, and tags along!
DD8 (was 7 then!)- The fearless one of the bunch
DD7 (was 6 then!)- The princess lover has only 1 concern in this trip- and thats finding them all.
The trip planning started around October of 2003. We hadnt been on a REAL vacation since 2001, and I thought we were overdue. DH had recently bought a new company, things were going okay, and we knew that April was a sort of slow month. One he could take off a few weeks from and still be okay. So I planned. And I planned, a bit more.
It started with St. Augustine, wed been there a few years ago. The kids loved it, we were right on the beach, and we spent a week there, just beaching it. Looked at the kids school calendar, and realized, they were going to miss some school. Thats okay theyre only in 1st and 2nd grades. They wont miss much, plus well do homework there. Talked to DH about it a bit, and he said, sounds good to him.. Okay- beach is good, well do it.
Then I started dreaming. What if we went to WDW? We had always talked about going, but felt the girls were too young. Well now theyre 6 & 7, thats perfect. Theyve both hit the 48 minimum height requirements so if they want to do the scarier rides, they can. So my search began. Somehow, I googled and found THE DIS! The first few weeks were overwhelming. Who would have thought there was this underground world of WDW lovers? All so full of information. I searched, I read, I wrote down, I printed pages, I Disd..I was hooked. WDW it was.
But what about that beach? UUTT OOHH.. DH is a Beach person. He loves being on the beach with kids, loves the laid back vacation in includes. Hmmmmm when to tell him? So, I didnt! I went through October, and November and figured out how much this was going to cost to do WDW..I broke it all down, with vouchers, different pass options, room options etc. I had it figured out. Wed stay off-site, get a 4 day hopper and not eat. Yup, thats what wed do. No really- Im kidding!
I called a family meeting. The kids were confused, they knew the house was being cleaned, their grades were okay, and they did not have any letters coming home from their teachers. Why would we need a family meeting? DH on the other hand, was sort of ignoring this issue.
By this time, I had purchased the Unofficial guide, brinbaums for kids by kids, and brinbaums for big people. I had pages from the Dis, Allears, mousesavers, you name it I had it. I laid it on the line for them. Heres what were gonna do.
Well leave Vermont April 16th and come back May 2nd. Well drive to Florida, and be at WDW from the 18th to 24th, then head to St. Augustine until April 30th. We were to stay off site. I had reservations at 2 different hotels in Kissimmee. I had also secretly booked ASMovies. Shhhhhh dont tell. I knew what codes were now you see, and if we got one- well wed be staying there! DH just about fell over at the thought of what this was going to cost, DDs fell out of their chairs crying they were so happy. Beach? Well, they really didnt care about that! It was all about Walt Disney World to them! And DH- well, he didnt say much, but I could see every time he blinked- those $$ were adding up. I kept that part from him for a while longer. I had more research to do. Cant give it all up at once when youre going from 1 week at the beach to 2 ½ in Florida!
From here, as the saying goes- it was all downhill. Downhill you ask? Well yeah, my budget, kept going downhill. This is WHY you dont tell DH when youre in the beginning stages. Had I told him $8,000 in the beginning, well, I would not be writing this trip report now! Wed have gone to the local holiday inn for vacation, and that would not have made for a very good trip report!
I got a Code for our rooms, I found vouchers on the dis boards. Saved my change, and joined AAA for discounts on the rooms going down. I figured out the mileage, and what exits we needed diesel- and what the price was at those Flying Js. I budgeted for everything possible. I found Disney stuff at The Dollar Tree, I hid it. I bought the Brita Water Bottles, found the filters at a local junk store (thats sort of like a big lots, only is junk too!)..I knew what I had to do, and I did it. I wont go into our final budget, but lets just say- it was a LOT less than my original guess.
If youve made it this far .your good! I tend to get a bit long winded, and WDW brings it out even more.
So- what did we end up doing you ask? Let me get rid of my typers cramp and Ill post our voyage to no return
Brandy
This here trip report is about 6 months late, but eh better late than never!
Cast of Characters
Me, 28 visited WDW WAY back in the early 80s. Compulsive planner
DH- 37. never been to WDW, HATES theme parks in general. Doesnt ask what were doing on vacation- just departs when we do, and tags along!
DD8 (was 7 then!)- The fearless one of the bunch
DD7 (was 6 then!)- The princess lover has only 1 concern in this trip- and thats finding them all.
The trip planning started around October of 2003. We hadnt been on a REAL vacation since 2001, and I thought we were overdue. DH had recently bought a new company, things were going okay, and we knew that April was a sort of slow month. One he could take off a few weeks from and still be okay. So I planned. And I planned, a bit more.
It started with St. Augustine, wed been there a few years ago. The kids loved it, we were right on the beach, and we spent a week there, just beaching it. Looked at the kids school calendar, and realized, they were going to miss some school. Thats okay theyre only in 1st and 2nd grades. They wont miss much, plus well do homework there. Talked to DH about it a bit, and he said, sounds good to him.. Okay- beach is good, well do it.
Then I started dreaming. What if we went to WDW? We had always talked about going, but felt the girls were too young. Well now theyre 6 & 7, thats perfect. Theyve both hit the 48 minimum height requirements so if they want to do the scarier rides, they can. So my search began. Somehow, I googled and found THE DIS! The first few weeks were overwhelming. Who would have thought there was this underground world of WDW lovers? All so full of information. I searched, I read, I wrote down, I printed pages, I Disd..I was hooked. WDW it was.
But what about that beach? UUTT OOHH.. DH is a Beach person. He loves being on the beach with kids, loves the laid back vacation in includes. Hmmmmm when to tell him? So, I didnt! I went through October, and November and figured out how much this was going to cost to do WDW..I broke it all down, with vouchers, different pass options, room options etc. I had it figured out. Wed stay off-site, get a 4 day hopper and not eat. Yup, thats what wed do. No really- Im kidding!
I called a family meeting. The kids were confused, they knew the house was being cleaned, their grades were okay, and they did not have any letters coming home from their teachers. Why would we need a family meeting? DH on the other hand, was sort of ignoring this issue.
By this time, I had purchased the Unofficial guide, brinbaums for kids by kids, and brinbaums for big people. I had pages from the Dis, Allears, mousesavers, you name it I had it. I laid it on the line for them. Heres what were gonna do.
Well leave Vermont April 16th and come back May 2nd. Well drive to Florida, and be at WDW from the 18th to 24th, then head to St. Augustine until April 30th. We were to stay off site. I had reservations at 2 different hotels in Kissimmee. I had also secretly booked ASMovies. Shhhhhh dont tell. I knew what codes were now you see, and if we got one- well wed be staying there! DH just about fell over at the thought of what this was going to cost, DDs fell out of their chairs crying they were so happy. Beach? Well, they really didnt care about that! It was all about Walt Disney World to them! And DH- well, he didnt say much, but I could see every time he blinked- those $$ were adding up. I kept that part from him for a while longer. I had more research to do. Cant give it all up at once when youre going from 1 week at the beach to 2 ½ in Florida!
From here, as the saying goes- it was all downhill. Downhill you ask? Well yeah, my budget, kept going downhill. This is WHY you dont tell DH when youre in the beginning stages. Had I told him $8,000 in the beginning, well, I would not be writing this trip report now! Wed have gone to the local holiday inn for vacation, and that would not have made for a very good trip report!
I got a Code for our rooms, I found vouchers on the dis boards. Saved my change, and joined AAA for discounts on the rooms going down. I figured out the mileage, and what exits we needed diesel- and what the price was at those Flying Js. I budgeted for everything possible. I found Disney stuff at The Dollar Tree, I hid it. I bought the Brita Water Bottles, found the filters at a local junk store (thats sort of like a big lots, only is junk too!)..I knew what I had to do, and I did it. I wont go into our final budget, but lets just say- it was a LOT less than my original guess.
If youve made it this far .your good! I tend to get a bit long winded, and WDW brings it out even more.
So- what did we end up doing you ask? Let me get rid of my typers cramp and Ill post our voyage to no return
Brandy
