Whoa Nelly! Lucky #13 & the Black Belt meet the Duck

[tebi73]

First off, let me say that this is my first ever Pre-Trip report. I have been reading everybody else's for years and decided that maybe I should try it for this trip. Hope everyone enjoys...

Who:
Me (Allison), age 34. I am a Disney-lover & Planner Extroidinaire. I've been the PTO president at DS school for the past 2 years. I have worked full-time for a motor oil distributor for the past 10 years. I teach the Beginners sunday school class at our church. I also sing in the church choir and sing solos/duets with DS. I love photography and just recently had my first paid semi-pro job for a family friend. I am totally addicted to the DIS and to Facebook. I am a DISigner on the Creative DISigns forum too. Donald Duck is my absolute favorite character. This is me:

No, seriously, here is a nicer picture...

DH (Kevin), Age 36. Totally not addicted to Disney, but tags along because he loves to make his family happy. He is a machinist/tool & die maker and owns a tree-trimming business on the side. He is the sound/video director at our church. He is absolutely the love of my life. I call him Moog, so that's what he'll be known as from here on out. He likes Sulley from Monsters Inc. and Donald Duck. Here is a pic...

And on a more serious note...

DS (Malachi), Age 8. Definitely his father's son! They are 2 of a kind. He loves to be outdoors. He is a natural athlete and excels at every sport he tries. He has played baseball for 5 seasons and is a great catcher. He made the local paper this year for making an unassisted triple play! He'll be starting his 2nd season of football in August. He's totally built like a football player. Solid & stocky. He says that football is his favorite sport. He has also taken Taekwondo since he was 3. He has almost earned his Black Belt. That is one of the reasons we're going to WDW - to celebrate him earning his Black Belt. He is also involved in our youth choir at church. He is a total Star Wars nut and Ferb (from Phineas & Ferb) is his favorite Disney Character (which is so wierd because Ferb hardly ever talks and Malachi talks all the time).
His nickname is Mouth (because he talks ALL the time!), so that's what he'll be called from here on out. This is him...

And more recent...

When: December 12th - 18th, 2010 - Magic Your Way package with Dining Plan. We loved having the DP when we used it on our last trip in 2008.

Where: Disney's POP Century Resort - This will be our first time at POP. We've stayed at OKW and ASMu on our past trips.

Next up - A little about us....

 

[tebi73]

About our Family:
We live on a little farm in Candler, North Carolina (just west of Asheville). When I say farm, I mean lots of animals - not necessarily any "real" farming going on!

We have:
18 Pygmy Goats - Streaky, Sweeps, Pepper, Salty, Billy Beard, Streaky Baby, Brownie, Robert, Susie, Josh, Tiffy, Pho, Collar, Collar Jr., Jimmy, Jennifer, Jar Jar Binks, & Zit

2 Sheep - Bewelah Lamb & Snowflake

1 Rabbit - Bunnicula

2 Beta Fish - Hana & Dool (means 1 and 2 in Korean)

1 Chihuahua - Puppy

We have also had a donkey (Roscoe HeeHaw Badonkadonk), a pig (Lucy), chickens (Pattie, Jack, & McNugget), a Pomeranian (Brandy) and a Great Pyrenees (Lucy), but they have since found their forever homes .

Next up: Some history...

 

[tebi73]

History:

Moog & I met when I was a freshman in high school and he was a senior. He was friends with the guy I was dating at the time. We were walking down the hall and stopped to talk to Moog. He said something nutty and I punched him in the arm. As crazy as it sounds, I knew right then that he was the person I would marry. I broke up with my BF that same day. Moog & I started talking and became friends. We talked everyday at school for the rest of the school year. Then...he graduated. I was heartbroken because I didn't really have any way to get in touch with him. I ran into him one day during the summer at the baseball field after one of my softball games.. He called me that night (while I was on a date with someone else). We went on our first date the very next day - June 25, 1991 and have been together ever since.

I finished high school & college and was beginning to think that we were never going to get married. He finally proposed on Valentines day in 1997 and we were married on November 29, 1997. We honeymooned at Walt Disney World and that's when my love of Disney really began. We had the best time. It wasn't crowded and the weather was perfect. We hated to come back home and back to the real world. When we walked into Magic Kingdom and towards the castle on the first day, there was a little boy (around 3 or 4) walking beside us with his family. When he saw the castle (wrapped in that nasty inflatable birthday cake) he said, "WHOA NELLY!" Moog & I just cracked up! He was so cute! So now it's a big thing every time we walk into any Disney park, we say, "WHOA NELLY!".

So, fast forward about 7 years.......and we have our own little boy to take to see the castle. We planned a trip for October 2004. We rented DVC points and stayed at OKW. There were record high temps that October and we were so miserable! It was so hot! We decided then, that December would be our Magic Time from then on.

Fast forward another 4 years.....to our next trip. We planned a 12 day trip for November/December 2008. This was when I discovered the DISboards and my new addiction - DISigning! We stayed @ ASMu this time and we had the Dining Plan. Mouth was finally tall enough to ride ALL of the rides! He was so excited to go back! We had a great time. The dining plan was a perfect fit for our family. We got to experience a lot of different places and foods that we probably wouldn't have if we had to pay OOP. I'll post some pics of that trip later tonight.

 

[tebi73]

In the meantime, Mouth has been continuing his Taekwondo. Last year, he qualified for the Jr. Olympics in Austin, TX, so I knew we wouldn't be able to afford to go there and take a WDW trip too. So, I put my Disney wishes on hold for the sake of Martial Arts. It was worth it though, because Mouth won a silver medal in forms and a bronze in sparring . This year, he started preparing for Jr. Olympics again and they announced that it would be held in - wait for it - wait for it......ORLANDO! However, it is in Julysad1:

Moog said NO WAY! Crud. So we decided to go to Pigeon Forge, June 19th-26th, for our summer vacation since we have season passes to Dollywood & Splash Country and it is really close to home. So I continued DISigning to feed my Disney addiction until we could go back.

Then.....I got a PIN code in the mail. Shoot - it wasn't for any dates in December. Then....I got another PIN code in the mail . Dang it - still not any December dates. Then....low & behold - another PIN code ! 40% off Dates in December ! YIPEEE!

I convinced Moog that it was just too good of an offer to pass up. Plus, if we wait another year, Mouth will be 10 - a DISadult! Money always talks when it comes to Moog.

We talked about it and were torn between 2 dates - November 28th-December 4th or December 12th-December 18th. Moog checked his vacation time and decided that we should go on the 12th-18th. That way he could still go deer hunting at Thanksgiving. Heaven forbid we miss hunting season for Disney again. But, I was ok with that as long as I get my Disney fix!

We enjoyed OKW, but have decided that the Value Resorts are the best fit for our family. Since we've stayed at ASMu twice, I decided that we might like to try Pop Century this trip. Mouth likes the Foosball guys in the courtyard and I know Moog will want to try the tie dye cheesecake - a combo of his 2 favorite desserts (Cheesecake & Red Velvet Cake).

On June 9th, when I called to make our reservations, they asked if we were celebrating anything. Since Mouth will "hopefully" have passed his final test by then and earned his BLACK BELT!, I told them that we would be celebrating that. Then, I remembered that Moog & I will be celebrating our LUCKY #13 wedding anniversary a few weeks before our trip. We have a lot to celebrate!

Next up: What parks? What days?