Watch out Disney...here we come! AND OFF WE GO! UPDATED W/ SURPRISE REVEAL VIDEO!

[lemondog]

T minus 30 days and counting...

Well, it's been 3 LOOONG years in the making, but our first family trip to Disney is only 1 month away!! This will be my first time in 15 years, so to say I am excited is truly the understatement of the century! So, without further ado, here is the cast for this long-awaited and hopefully super-exciting adventure to the World!

Me (36) - you won't find any pics of me on here. Why? Because people only care about looking at kids and animals. Plus, I am not a fan of cameras and tend to run when I see one, which means there are scarce few pics of me to begin with. I think there is only ONE photo of me during my entire pregnancy with the twins. Sad, huh? Anyway...I am a major Disney fanatic, even though I have only been 4 times in my life. At the age of 5 in 1977 (Poly), at the age of 9 in 1981 (Ft. Wilderness, in a tent), at the age of 14 in 1986 (Ft. Wilderness again, this time in a pop-up...every preteen girl's DREAM ) and finally at the age of 21 in 1993 (Poly again, this time with a boyfriend, who shall remain nameless and in the furthest reaches of my brain).

DH (36) - Not nearly as cute as the kids, so need to bother with a photo. Okay...DH was born on October 1, 1971. All you Disney freaks will understand the significance of that date. He has NEVER BEEN to Disney. And he is not a fan of theme parks or large crowds in general. So what am I going to do? Take him to the most famous theme park in the world, in the hottest and most crowded month of the year! If there is anyone immune to the Disney magic, it will probably be him. BUT....in all fairness, I am trying to cater this vacation to him as well. We will be spending a lot of time in the afternoons at the resort swimming and hanging out, which will make him happy. And give our kids a much needed chance to rest. Speaking of kids...

DD1 (6 going on 16) - She thinks she is a superstar, so we'll just call her that.

This trip is all about her, to celebrate her 7th birthday. She is going to "get" the vacation as a birthday present the night before we leave. I have actually kept this trip a secret for 16 months! Trying to be supermama, I have been feverishly planning how to actually unveil the big surprise. I have spent countless nights on YouTube viewing Disney trip surprise videos, boo-hooing at the screams, smiles and laughter of the happy kids...and praying feverishly that Superstar does not react like the OTHER faction of kids...ya know, the ones that would rather visit grandma instead of the Mouse. This one happens to be my personal favorite...(ya gotta feel for this mom).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MIBxhh_R_w&feature=related


DD2 & DD3 (4)...the wonder twins. We'll call them Ariel and Melody...after their 2 favorite Disney characters.

That's Ariel on the left, and Melody on the right. They pretty much live for all things Disney, especially anyone that's of the female persuasion and has a mermaid tail. I have no doubt they will be BEYOND ecstatic about this trip (it's a surprise to them too).

So that's us in a nutshell. It's late and I have to work tomorrow, so it's off to bed for me. More on pre-planning adventures to come.

 

[lemondog]

On to our schedule.

We'll be there the 4th week of July, staying at my childhood favorite...Polynesian! I just can't bring myself to stay anywhere else. To me, the Polynesian IS Disney! Plus, with 3 kids we needed to stay in a hotel with rooms big enough to hold all 5 of us. I had to really talk DH into the Poly...he was all for the Contemporary, and I actually tried to book it, but AAA had no CR rooms, just Poly. I guess that was the tiki gods taking care of me!

I am still feverishly working on touring plans...using UG and accompanying website...but a rough outline of our days looks like this.

Sat. -- arrive, check out Boardwalk, lunch at B&C, check in, relax, dinner at 1900 Park Fare. This will be DD's "official" birthday dinner.
Sun -- Magic Kingdom
Mon -- Epcot
Tues -- MGM
Wed -- Off day/DTD/swim
Thurs -- AK
Fri -- MK again
Sat -- eat breakfast & depart

I still feel like we don't have enough time. I swear you could spend 2 weeks at WDW and still not really do everything, kwim? But, 7 nights at the Poly is PUH-LENTY on our pocketbooks! So, we'll do what we can and hopefully be able to afford to go back sometime in the next decade!

 

[noahdove]

I can't wait to hear what your daughter has to say It will be sooooo magical

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Good old Tiki Gods. Reminds me of an old brady bunch episode where Greg finds an enchanted Tiki necklace.

I can't believe you kept it a secret from the girls this long. Are you going to tape their reaction too?

 

[Jaelynnandmom]

I just found your pre-trip report , great start! I hope you get a better reaction than the kids on the youtube video, I would be so upset if my DD had that reaction. I can't wait to read more.

 

[kadesha]

I hope the surprise goes over well. I am hiding our Christmas trip from our kids too. I'm looking for clever ways to surprise them. We will be driving there, so I'm thinking I'll just tell them to look when we go under THE sign! I cant wait to read your report!

 

[lemondog]

I can't wait to hear what your daughter has to say It will be sooooo magical

Thanks...me either! All she keeps telling me is that she wants to go back to Gatlinburg..hehe. Let's just hope she loves Disney as much as she loves Dollywood!

I can't believe you kept it a secret from the girls this long. Are you going to tape their reaction too?

I can't believe it either! I am DEFINITELY going to tape the reaction!

I just found your pre-trip report , great start! I hope you get a better reaction than the kids on the youtube video, I would be so upset if my DD had that reaction. I can't wait to read more.

Thanks! That youtube video totally cracks me up! I was racking my brain trying to figure out how to pack in front of them without giving it away, so my DH suggested I tell them we were going to Boston to visit their Nani and Papa. Ummm...no way! They adore their grandparents, and I am sure if they thought they were going to "Nani and Papa's house" they would have had the exact same reaction as those kids in the video.

I hope the surprise goes over well. I am hiding our Christmas trip from our kids too. I'm looking for clever ways to surprise them. We will be driving there, so I'm thinking I'll just tell them to look when we go under THE sign! I cant wait to read your report!

Good luck with your surprise too! Superstar was drooling over a Hannah Montana suitcase in Target the other day, so I snuck out last night and picked it up. I think it just might come in handy for the big reveal...still thinking...

 

[lemondog]

T minus 24 days and counting...

Now that you've met the crew and have a general idea of our itinerary, let me tell you how AMAZING it is that we are actually getting to go on this vacation! Hence my official title for this vacation...The Trip That Almost Wasn't

As I mentioned in my first post I have been to Disney a few times, but not since 1993. DH and the kids have never been. It has been my DREAM to take a family vacay there!

We originally planned a trip in January 2006. We were going to stay at the FW Cabins, and my parents were going to come down in their RV. It was going to be cooler, a slower time of year...a good way to introduce my theme-park, crowd hating hubby to Disney (Aw, what the heck, let's just call him GRUMPY!)

We had a nice chunk o' change saved for that trip...around $4000. But alas, it was not meant to be. In the span of 4 days we lost BOTH our cars. Yes, I repeat, BOTH our cars. DH's Volvo (very old, but very loved) crapped out on the interstate...the engine more or less blew up. So we gave him my Explorer and got me a minivan (we had 3 carseats, so we needed the space). Well, 3 days later he hydroplaned into a retaining wall on the interstate, and totaled it. My beautiful Falcor was destroyed!!! (Yes, we name our cars.) Luckily DH was fine, it was a miracle. But we took our 4 grand and put it down on a car for DH. In the span of 1 week we went from NO car payments to TWO!

So there went that vacation. Then in January of 2007 we decided to try and take the girls in the summer of 2008. Had to be summer because by this point older DD was in school and we are not willing to take her out. So I started planning last March, and booked our package in July 2007. Put down my $200 deposit with AAA and started saving.

But again...God had other plans for us. First, it was the tornado this February that ripped over 100 shingles off our roof. Homeowners only gave us $3500 to replace, and the cost is about $8500 (we need an WHOLE new roof), so that's nearly $5000 out of pocket. Then in March, our basement started flooding. Can ya see where I am going with this? We had to get our entire basement and crawlspace waterproofed, and a french drain installed in the backyard. Total cost: $5800. Now we're up to $10,800 (thank God for savings). Next comes April 1st, and DH loses his job. April Fools Day! NOT! Now, being the true Disney freak that I am, the FIRST thing that went thru my mind when I got the call was "OMG, what about our Disney trip?"

I was NOT happy that this was happening all over again. So we decided if DH got a job by our 45-day window (when balance was due to Disney), then we would go. If not, then we would cancel. Our deadline was June 2, and PRAISE THE LORD DH started a new job June 1st. Once again, the tiki gods were taking care of me! So the trip is still on and we leave in less than 1 month!

Up next....a bargain hunters bonanza OR They Don't Call Me Cheap For Nothin'

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Stitch was as close to a tiki god I could find. What a year. I'm glad your DH could still get the time off you needed for Disney with a new job.

 

[lemondog]

T-Minus 7 hours and counting...

Hi guys! Sorry I have not posted in a while...things got crazy.

Anyway, it's about time for this PRE trip report to turn into an REAL trip report....we leave tonight!!!

I am so proud of myself...I kept this trip a secret from the kids for over 11 months!! Last night was the big reveal at Superstar's 7th birthday dinner with my family....here's it is:

To say she was surprised is an understatement. What you DON'T see in the video is 5 minutes later when she is literally running laps around the inside of house screaming "Disney World! Disney World!" OR 20 minutes after that when the sugar high comes down and she starts sobbing saying she's going to miss her friends and the dog.

So we're all packed! DH is sleeping in preparation for the overnight drive (should take us about 12 hours), the girls are playing at a friend's house, and I am (supposed to be) cleaning the house, which got trashed after our whirlwhind packing session last night and this morning.

I'll catch you on the flip side, hopefully with a full trip report AND dining report!

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Glad you got a happy reaction.

Thought it was real cute when she was searchig through the other pockets too.