DH is graduating from Medical school in May, and the entire family deserves to celebrate! Weve been apart for holidays, many days at a time, and weve lived through it. Weve all worked hard to keep the family running, and were celebrating together.
The whole family in 2007. Pictures are small for now because I don't have the originals right now.
Going on this trip:
Me, Audrey (31). Im in management in IT at a large company. Im a planner I really LIKE planning anything. Im okay when things dont go according to plan, so it doesnt bother me too much. I went to Disney every few years growing up, and I loved every magical minute. We bought DVC a few years ago and have stayed at Vero Beach and BCV, but weve not done a true, go to the parks trip yet. Weve just enjoyed the hotels and environment. (unless you count 2 days with DS when he was 1. I dont ) Now, its time to celebrate!
DH, Dr. Dad (32) Will graduate from medical school in May. He has several weeks off until he starts his residency, and we plan to take full advantage of it. Hes been to Disney quite a bit too, and enjoys it. I love the planning part, he loves that I plan it all for us. Hes a happy and willing participant.
DS, Jacob (4) Loves Disney movies, especially Dumbo, Nemo, and Incredibles. He cant wait to go, and is already talking quite a bit about our trip. He and I enjoy watching the planning video together. (Im also using it to get him used to the idea of all these things.) He has trouble transitioning from one activity to the next, so I feel like we are always preparing him for the next thing coming. He's also a pacifier kid. I read all the books, and I know we should have taken it away long ago, but dang, the kid gets so much comfort from it, I can't take it away. We've really restricted his use of it, so I'm sure most of our pictures this year will be void of the paci.
DS, Tyler (almost 2) Loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He has no idea whats going on, but hes a pleasant child and goes along with most anything we do. Hes a tiny thing, and wont be able to go on any rides with a height restriction even Goofys Barnstormer. Im hoping hell be oblivious to the fact that he could ride these things, and just be happy watching everything going on. This picture is from the beach at BCV looking at the Boardwalk across the lake. This was a year ago, and the only difference I see is that he's gotten a haircut since then. He may have gained a few pounds since this was taken.
Thats the family! Were a busy bunch. In the past five years, weve not been together a lot of the time. But, when we are together, we like having fun.
This Trip:
We arrive Wednesday, May 27, and leave Wednesday June 3. Im on the waiting list to start the trip one day earlier, so well see what happens with that. Its the Wednesday after Memorial day, so I think were taking our chances with the crowds. Really, it was the best time for us. May is full of graduations for our family (including DHs!), so it knocked out a couple weekends. We have a software implementation one weekend, and I feel the need to be around for that too. So, it left us this week in May, and I think it will work fine for us.
Because we are celebrating DH, I gave him his pick of where to stay. I opened the websites for each of the DVC resorts so he could see all his options. That was way overkill for him, and he closed all but two or three. Since it opened, hes wanted to stay at AKL. But, we visited there last year, and the background music about drove me crazy. Im not sure I could put up with that music all the time. It was a lot of fun for our family to visit for an afternoon. We enjoyed seeing all the animals and looking around, but that satisfied any need we had to stay there. Finally, DH landed on the VWL. Well have a one bedroom villa. DH and I will have the bedroom, Jacob will get the pullout in the family room, and Tyler will sleep in the pack and play, but I havent figured out where Ill put that yet. Ideally, not in the bedroom with us, but Im not sure I want it out all the time in the family room. (remember the planning thing I mentioned earlier? I like to think about these things.)
Were doing the DDP, which is a first for us. In the past, weve just gone to the grocery and prepared most meals in the kitchen. Eating out with our kids is a challenge, mostly because you never know if youre going to be dining with the angels or the monsters. The angels sit there sweetly, coloring or having a good conversation. They may or may not eat all their food, but they dont complain about it. When the angels dine with us, its a pleasant experience for everyone, and we all enjoy it. When the monsters dine with us, nobodys happy. Jacobs monster falls out of chairs, complains about anything and everything, knocks stuff over, complains about falling out of his chair and dropping stuff, doesnt eat his food and tells us all about it, and wants to leave as soon as the menus arrive. Tylers monster doesnt want to sit down, wants to sit on the floor and eat other diners crumbs, wants to open all the sugar packets and salt shakers, and is a very loud screamer. I get angry and turn into my own mommy monster. DH handles everything very well. He has the patience of a saint. He is often the one who takes the worse monster out of the restaurant to walk around and distract them. When he brings said monster back, sometimes we get the angel child. I have no idea how he does it, but I admire that quality. I digress.
ADRs
Tonys Town Square (MK - dinner)
Crystal Palace (MK - breakfast)
Coral Reef (Epcot - dinner)
Le Cellier (Epcot - dinner)
Whispering Canyon (VWL dinner)
Chef Mickeys (Contemporary breakfast)
Play and Dine at Hollywood and Vine (DHS lunch)
The Dinosaur Restaurant (DTD dinner)
DH and I have eaten at Tonys, Coral Reef, and Le Cellier before. The others are new to us.
Concerns I have about the DDP (other than the angel/monster scenarios):
I know everyone says the DDP is way too much food, but will the little ones have enough food to sustain them throughout the day? I can survive on two meals a day, but both our kids need to eat frequently. Im planning on bringing snacks because of this.
Tyler is too young for the DDP. Ive heard that some restaurants will bring an extra plate while others will bring out a duplicate meal of the other childs. Im not sure how to handle this, and Im afraid that all the meals I order at WDW will have to have some form of kid food in it to share with him. So, instead of ordering the food I really want, Im going to make sure I order something that hell eat too. Its not a problem, but something that I think about.
Itinerary I do have this, but its on another computer. I suppose I should save something for another post.
When DH and I have gone without kids, we go commando through the parks. I know for a fact this will not work for us now. Im planning on getting to the parks at opening, staying through lunch, then going back to the resort. Well spend the afternoon off our feet napping, watching tv, or swimming. Well go back for our dinner ADR and spend the evening in the park. Everyday will be like this, except for the Animal Kingdom day. Well stay until 2-3ish, then go back for the evening. There are no plans that night.
Were using the Magical Express again, which I absolutely love. Letting someone else handle all our luggage is fine by me. However, this time, we arrive at 9am. In the past, Ive never had to wait for a room, but Im seeing on many trip reports that people are having to wait until 3-4pm to get into their rooms. So, I wont plan on getting into the room right away. Maybe well go to MK for a lazy afternoon. I need to figure out how to get Tyler a little rest in there somewhere though. Maybe a monorail ride around 2pm will work. Hmmm
So far, I dont have any special plans or events. I told the CMs that have taken our reservations that we are celebrating DHs graduation, and I entered our celebration on the DVC website, but I havent made any official plans. I thought I might order a cake at the waitress stand at Tonys, our first night there. I also thought about making a sign for our door and shipping it down prior to our arrival. Im open to ideas on this one about how to make it more special for him and for the family.
Thanks for bearing with my novel. I'll be back with more planning information soon.
Audrey
The whole family in 2007. Pictures are small for now because I don't have the originals right now.
Going on this trip:
Me, Audrey (31). Im in management in IT at a large company. Im a planner I really LIKE planning anything. Im okay when things dont go according to plan, so it doesnt bother me too much. I went to Disney every few years growing up, and I loved every magical minute. We bought DVC a few years ago and have stayed at Vero Beach and BCV, but weve not done a true, go to the parks trip yet. Weve just enjoyed the hotels and environment. (unless you count 2 days with DS when he was 1. I dont ) Now, its time to celebrate!
DH, Dr. Dad (32) Will graduate from medical school in May. He has several weeks off until he starts his residency, and we plan to take full advantage of it. Hes been to Disney quite a bit too, and enjoys it. I love the planning part, he loves that I plan it all for us. Hes a happy and willing participant.
DS, Jacob (4) Loves Disney movies, especially Dumbo, Nemo, and Incredibles. He cant wait to go, and is already talking quite a bit about our trip. He and I enjoy watching the planning video together. (Im also using it to get him used to the idea of all these things.) He has trouble transitioning from one activity to the next, so I feel like we are always preparing him for the next thing coming. He's also a pacifier kid. I read all the books, and I know we should have taken it away long ago, but dang, the kid gets so much comfort from it, I can't take it away. We've really restricted his use of it, so I'm sure most of our pictures this year will be void of the paci.
DS, Tyler (almost 2) Loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He has no idea whats going on, but hes a pleasant child and goes along with most anything we do. Hes a tiny thing, and wont be able to go on any rides with a height restriction even Goofys Barnstormer. Im hoping hell be oblivious to the fact that he could ride these things, and just be happy watching everything going on. This picture is from the beach at BCV looking at the Boardwalk across the lake. This was a year ago, and the only difference I see is that he's gotten a haircut since then. He may have gained a few pounds since this was taken.
Thats the family! Were a busy bunch. In the past five years, weve not been together a lot of the time. But, when we are together, we like having fun.
This Trip:
We arrive Wednesday, May 27, and leave Wednesday June 3. Im on the waiting list to start the trip one day earlier, so well see what happens with that. Its the Wednesday after Memorial day, so I think were taking our chances with the crowds. Really, it was the best time for us. May is full of graduations for our family (including DHs!), so it knocked out a couple weekends. We have a software implementation one weekend, and I feel the need to be around for that too. So, it left us this week in May, and I think it will work fine for us.
Because we are celebrating DH, I gave him his pick of where to stay. I opened the websites for each of the DVC resorts so he could see all his options. That was way overkill for him, and he closed all but two or three. Since it opened, hes wanted to stay at AKL. But, we visited there last year, and the background music about drove me crazy. Im not sure I could put up with that music all the time. It was a lot of fun for our family to visit for an afternoon. We enjoyed seeing all the animals and looking around, but that satisfied any need we had to stay there. Finally, DH landed on the VWL. Well have a one bedroom villa. DH and I will have the bedroom, Jacob will get the pullout in the family room, and Tyler will sleep in the pack and play, but I havent figured out where Ill put that yet. Ideally, not in the bedroom with us, but Im not sure I want it out all the time in the family room. (remember the planning thing I mentioned earlier? I like to think about these things.)
Were doing the DDP, which is a first for us. In the past, weve just gone to the grocery and prepared most meals in the kitchen. Eating out with our kids is a challenge, mostly because you never know if youre going to be dining with the angels or the monsters. The angels sit there sweetly, coloring or having a good conversation. They may or may not eat all their food, but they dont complain about it. When the angels dine with us, its a pleasant experience for everyone, and we all enjoy it. When the monsters dine with us, nobodys happy. Jacobs monster falls out of chairs, complains about anything and everything, knocks stuff over, complains about falling out of his chair and dropping stuff, doesnt eat his food and tells us all about it, and wants to leave as soon as the menus arrive. Tylers monster doesnt want to sit down, wants to sit on the floor and eat other diners crumbs, wants to open all the sugar packets and salt shakers, and is a very loud screamer. I get angry and turn into my own mommy monster. DH handles everything very well. He has the patience of a saint. He is often the one who takes the worse monster out of the restaurant to walk around and distract them. When he brings said monster back, sometimes we get the angel child. I have no idea how he does it, but I admire that quality. I digress.
ADRs
Tonys Town Square (MK - dinner)
Crystal Palace (MK - breakfast)
Coral Reef (Epcot - dinner)
Le Cellier (Epcot - dinner)
Whispering Canyon (VWL dinner)
Chef Mickeys (Contemporary breakfast)
Play and Dine at Hollywood and Vine (DHS lunch)
The Dinosaur Restaurant (DTD dinner)
DH and I have eaten at Tonys, Coral Reef, and Le Cellier before. The others are new to us.
Concerns I have about the DDP (other than the angel/monster scenarios):
I know everyone says the DDP is way too much food, but will the little ones have enough food to sustain them throughout the day? I can survive on two meals a day, but both our kids need to eat frequently. Im planning on bringing snacks because of this.
Tyler is too young for the DDP. Ive heard that some restaurants will bring an extra plate while others will bring out a duplicate meal of the other childs. Im not sure how to handle this, and Im afraid that all the meals I order at WDW will have to have some form of kid food in it to share with him. So, instead of ordering the food I really want, Im going to make sure I order something that hell eat too. Its not a problem, but something that I think about.
Itinerary I do have this, but its on another computer. I suppose I should save something for another post.
When DH and I have gone without kids, we go commando through the parks. I know for a fact this will not work for us now. Im planning on getting to the parks at opening, staying through lunch, then going back to the resort. Well spend the afternoon off our feet napping, watching tv, or swimming. Well go back for our dinner ADR and spend the evening in the park. Everyday will be like this, except for the Animal Kingdom day. Well stay until 2-3ish, then go back for the evening. There are no plans that night.
Were using the Magical Express again, which I absolutely love. Letting someone else handle all our luggage is fine by me. However, this time, we arrive at 9am. In the past, Ive never had to wait for a room, but Im seeing on many trip reports that people are having to wait until 3-4pm to get into their rooms. So, I wont plan on getting into the room right away. Maybe well go to MK for a lazy afternoon. I need to figure out how to get Tyler a little rest in there somewhere though. Maybe a monorail ride around 2pm will work. Hmmm
So far, I dont have any special plans or events. I told the CMs that have taken our reservations that we are celebrating DHs graduation, and I entered our celebration on the DVC website, but I havent made any official plans. I thought I might order a cake at the waitress stand at Tonys, our first night there. I also thought about making a sign for our door and shipping it down prior to our arrival. Im open to ideas on this one about how to make it more special for him and for the family.
Thanks for bearing with my novel. I'll be back with more planning information soon.
Audrey
