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Well here I am once again planning my next trip. After my last PTR/TR I had said to myself that I wouldn't write another PTR, but would likely write a TR. I just kind of felt like my PTR was a little boring and I didn't have enough to say about the trip. Well now that I'm just starting to toss around ideas of when to go and what my trip is going to shape up to be I'm remembering how helpful you all were in my planning last time. So I'm sucking it up and writing yet another PTR for my next trip that is going to happen, but at the moment there are no concrete plans. Maybe this will be a snoozer or maybe you will all get a good laugh at how I talk myself into and out of vacation plans. I don't know, but it's sure to be interesting as my 2 1/2 year old is likely going to have a bit of input on this trip and he is quite the spirited fellow.
For those of you who followed my last PTR/TR you'll know that DH and I have agreed that we can take a Disney trip every other year. For me it would be every year, but DH insists we visit other places. And go camping - I'm just not a tent kind of girl. It's something he loves to do and wants our kids exposed to. So our agreement is that we can go other places - with me pushing for a nice lakeside cabin over a tent - and then Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise, etc. every other year. It's our "family tradition". Our vacation tradition to go to WDW half as many times as I want to, but enough to keep me happy.
Our first Disney trip as a couple was back in 2006. Well it really wasn't a full Disney trip, but we trekked out to California and DH (boyfriend at the time) let me visit Disneyland for a day. We also went to Sea World and did a lot of hiking outdoors in the summer heat. DH didn't even really want to go to Disneyland, but agreed to stop there for a day while we were in the L.A. area. I think he thought he was too old for Disney and wouldn't have any fun. He had been to Disney World back when he was in high school and really liked it, but I think he just thought it wouldn't be very fun or something. He has since confessed to me that he had always viewed Disney vacations as "once in a lifetime" and didn't think he should be going again. I just don't understand him sometimes. Anyways we stopped at Disneyland and stayed until the park closed. On the way back to our hotel DH asked if we could go back the next day. He loved it that much. Sadly we could not as we were leaving for San Diego in the morning, but I was happy that he had a good time.
Fast forward to 2008 when we got engaged. We started talking about our honeymoon and brought up Europe and Mexico and some far off tropical islands. You know all the places you are supposed to go on your honeymoon. Then I brought up Disney World because that's where I really wanted to go anyways. DH was a little hesitant, but I reminded him of our Disneyland trip and told him the 1,000,001 things we could do at Disney World and he finally agreed to honeymoon there in August of 2009. We had a lovely time on that trip and I convinced DH that we needed to do Disney every other year.
Well about 4 months after we got hitched we found out there was a bun in the oven and in July 2010 our son was born. I started talking to DH about our 2011 Disney trip as our last trip had been in 2009 and he wasn't very keen on the idea of going. Many excuses were brought up. "We don't want to bring a baby to Disney World.", "He won't remember any of it.", yadda yadda yadda. And I kind of thought the same things. So we decided that we would take DS when he was 1 1/2 which would be January of 2012. My in-laws ended up along for the ride and we had a wonderful trip.
A few weeks after our 2012 trip we found out that we had brought home the best (and most expensive) souvenir. We were going to be welcoming a new member into our family in October of 2012. A few months later we found out baby was going to be a princess and I started thinking about bringing my daughter to the place where princesses live. To the land of fairy tales and dreams coming true. However, when she arrived on October 2nd, 2012 a Disney trip was nowhere to be found in my sleep deprived brain. I was dealing with a 2 year old and a newborn and I couldn't function let alone think about our next trip. Now that she is 3 months old and I'm finally getting some sleep my mind has been wandering back to the next time we visit my happy place.
When will it happen? Where will we stay? Who will be tagging along?
I've got ideas on each of those areas, but only time will tell how everything will shape up. One thing is for sure: 2014 will be our next trip and first trip as a family of 4! DS is going to be old enough to really tell us what he wants to do and still be young enough where everything is magic. DD will be at the age where she is just in awe of it all (well if she's anything like her brother she will be). So if you're interested follow along as I change my plans 100 times while not really knowing what the heck I'm doing. I've got a year to figure it all out. And a 2 1/2 year old who is determined to help me do just that.
Up next: The definite cast and the 2 1/2 year olds version of the cast.
WDW - August 1997 Off Property
WDW - January 2005 AKL
WDW - May 2006 Pop Century
WDW- november-dec 2007 pop century
WDW- dec/jan 2009/2010 pop century
WDW- oct/nov 2012 art of animation
WDW- sept 2013 port Orleans riverside
WDW- july 2015 beach club
So since the exact dates are up in the air and where we're staying is a question you'd think I'd at least know who was coming along right? Well I do. And apparently I don't. You see on our last trip we invited my in-laws along. And it was a great time, but I don't think they're all that interested in going to Disney World every other year. So I was pretty sure that they wouldn't be joining us. My mom had hinted not long after our last trip that she would want to come with us and I figured that we would pay for her trip as she watches the kids for us for free (well she gets significant upgrades to birthday gifts and some extra fun money from us - still cheaper than daycare). So I had thought that it would likely be me, DH, DS, DD and my mom. Well then I was chatting with my mom before DD was born and she said she didn't want to go with us when the kids are so little and that she wanted to wait until DD was at least 4. Fine by me. So this trip is for our little family. Just the 4 of us. Introducing:
Me - Missy. I'm a 30 year old mother of 2 and a computer programmer in my free time. My free time is actually my full time job with the State of Minnesota's Legislature, but with little kids sometimes going to work actually feels like free time. Technically I'm not working full time yet as they're letting me ease back into things at 3 days a week, but I'll be full time long before this trip happens. My favorite princess is Belle (and DD of course) and my favorite ride is Pirates!
DH - Nate. Almost 30 year old. Wonderful husband and father. He works as a department manager at Target. He's also got a degree in computers, but so far still hasn't found a position in that field. Someday. He's a kid at heart and spends our trips trying to find as many stupid things to put on his head as possible. He's not really all that into princesses, but I'm pretty sure his favorite is DD. He likes the Pirates movies and his favorite ride is any ride where he doesn't get wet.
DS - Cameron. A 2 1/2 year old trouble maker. Kid gets into EVERYTHING. His profession at the moment is driving his parents crazy. Deep down he is a super sweet boy who is always giving you extra hugs if you're not feeling well. He loves his new little sister and helps out mommy whenever he isn't too busy getting into stuff. On our last trip he loved Donald, but lately he's been 100% about Curious George. I know it's not Disney, but it's what he loves. He still likes Mickey and gang, but Curious George is his favorite. Just being honest. He's also into Mater and McQueen. The other night he told my mom "Me just loves Chip and Dale. Dey so funny." So I guess he likes them too. He LOVED the Finding Nemo ride (at the time he called it Ma-mo).
DD - Mallory. Currently 3 months old. She'll be about 1 or 1 1/2 at the time of the trip. We'll see what her interests are at that time. She likes when the music comes on when watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse so I'm thinking she'll like some of them. She's been a super easy baby compared to my son so I'm hoping that she's a little more mellow than he was. Only time will tell. This will be her first trip and I plan on making it magical for her and all of us as well.
So that's who's coming on this trip. But Cameron has other ideas. And boy does he have a lot of them. I'm not sure he really remembers his first trip, but we've watched videos and looked at pictures from the trip recently and he talks about it non-stop. Then the other night my mom, sister and her family were at our house for dinner. My son has always been a talker, but he just recetly started really having conversations with other kids. Well my niece is 4 1/2 and they were sitting at the dinner table and all of a sudden Cameron says "Maddy you want to go Dizzy World wif me?" Cause after watching the tea cup ride Disney World is known in our house as Dizzy World. Of course my niece replied "Sure". My sister and her family just went to WDW in October and my niece remembers a lot about it. Throughout dinner Maddy and Cameron talked about everything they were going to do when we all went to Dizzy World. Princesses are at the top of Maddy's list and Nemo is at the top of Cameron's.
I thought talk of our trip would die down as we actually don't have "real" plans other than we're going in 2014. Plus the kids are little so they would surely forget about it right? WRONG! Cameron has kept talking and talking about the trip. "And we go to Dizzy World wif Maddy and Efan (my nephew Ethan) and see da princesses and Bruce and ride on da airplane and den on da bus. You hafa take a airplane and bus to Dizzy World. Mickey lives dere." He has talked about every ride he knows about and said which he will go on and which he won't. "No ridin' da ghost ride. It's too scary." And about how his cousins are coming with. And how we will meet Mickey and pals and the princesses and who he will ride the rides with and how we have to wait for Mallory to get a little bit bigger so she's not scared of Bruce. He's planning this whole trip and knows exactly what we are doing.
Every time he sees my sister and her family he asks each one of them "You go to Dizzy World wif us?" And he's told me my mom and dad are going too. "Grandma comin' to Dizzy World wif us too. Her gonna bring Grandpa so he not can be alone." Then the other night my mom was over and we were looking at pictures from our trip and he asked my mom "You like tiki's grandma?" My mom said yes as the tiki room is her favorite. So of course Cam said "You come to Dizzy World wif us and see da tiki's." I'm really starting to think he's going to start asking random people to join us on our trip. "Hey guy at da grocery store. You like Nemo? Wanna go Dizzy World wif us?"
Well everyone has been telling Cameron that they will for sure go with us on this trip. And he's really excited. And my niece is really excited. And my nephew is 2 and he only kind of gets it at the moment, but he keeps saying "Mickey House" so I'm pretty sure he's coming too. So unless I want to break my son and my nieces heart it looks like this trip may end up being kind of a grand gathering (even though I don't think they do those any more). None of us have really talked seriously about a trip yet, but I'm pretty sure the kids think it's happening. So my sister, her husband, daughter (4 1/2) and son (2) might be joining us. And my mom might come as well. My dad I just don't know. He's not a theme park and crowd kind of guy, but Cameron says he's going and he just adores his buddy boy so he might surprise me and come too. I suppose my youngest sister may surprise us as well and tag along, but I kind of doubt it.
So this PTR will sort out exactly who is going, when we're going and where we're staying. All of which the kids apparently know everything about. I just
have to make sure I overhear their conversations so that I know what we're doing. Planning this trip is going to be interesting...
A first birthday is a great time to go & celebrate, especially if so many others will be joining you. Maybe Cam should just plan this trip for you and you won't have anything to do.
Sounds like a very intersting start! Can't wait to follow along and see where and when you guys are going!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Great cast of characters!
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by lfredsbo
I love Stitch and Tinker Bell.......hey Cameron, can I come to Dizzy World wif you?
What a ham!!!
But I do like his planning!
I'm sure he'd let you join us. His plans get more and more interesting by the day.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OhToodles!
A first birthday is a great time to go & celebrate, especially if so many others will be joining you. Maybe Cam should just plan this trip for you and you won't have anything to do.
I'd consider a first b-day trip, but I don't think I'll have enough vacation saved up by October. I'm only part time at work and still depleting my vacation hours. If I could teach Cam how to call Disney Dining and make ADRs I might just let him take care of it all. Any luck getting Dylan and Lukas to do those things?
Quote:
Originally Posted by MayraLR
Great start! I was cracking up about Cameron's conversations about Disney and asking random people to join you on the trip.
He makes me laugh every day. Such a crazy little guy.
Well planning this trip is going to be fun. I'll admit I was half hoping that my family wouldn't be joining us. It was cute listening to my son and niece talk about the trip, but I thought maybe my sister and her family weren't serious about joining us. Turns out they are. I talked to my sister over the weekend and they really want to come with. And although I think the kids will really enjoy traveling to WDW with each other I have a feeling that I won't enjoy it as much. I'd be fine with my mom joining us as she and I like similar things and we get along, but my sister and father are a different story.
My sister and I have had our differences over the years, but we're in a better place now since we both have children. We get along well enough, but long periods of time together and we get on each others nerves. We're just very different people. She's a slob and I'm a neat freak. She's a "making reservations for dinner months in advance is stupid" person and well I come to this website so you all know what camp I fall into there. She's the type of person who would never bother trying to figure out how to avoid waiting in long lines at WDW and would be annoyed at me for suggesting we go to Fantasyland early so that we don't spend all day waiting to get on Dumbo. We're just different. We went on a 4 day trip with our families when they boys were 1 and I was crabby within about a day and a half. I can't imagine that a week long trip will be any better.
I'm getting along a lot better with my dad now days. When I lived with him I was always annoyed with him as he's like Ariel's dad. "You will obey my rules." And a lot of times I didn't agree with his rules - I had a 9 PM curfew when I lived with them after finishing college. Since moving out of his house I find him really helpful and I know he does care about me and my family. And watching him with my little boy has been so great. He had 3 girls and is so excited to have grandsons. However, he hates crowds and the last time we went to WDW with him it wasn't the best trip. He gets crabby and bored in the parks. I'm still not 100% sure that he will join us, but my mom says he will.
I'm going to suck it up for the kids as I'm sure that they will have fun, but I'll warn you now this PTR might have a bit of venting in it as I will have to try and get my sister to plan a bit. This PTR might also be filled with misspellings and bad grammar as I will likely consume large amounts of alcohol while planning.
Now onto when we'll be going. I'm going to need a little help here as I'm still deciding what to do. We last went at the end of January/early February 2012. So we're going to go in 2014. Now I loved going at that time of year because it wasn't too hot and the crowds were super light. A big plus when traveling with little ones. I just don't know if I can swing going at that time of year again. My job has a no vacation rule from January to May (legislative session) so I can't really take off. In 2014 session doesn't start until late January so the first 3 weeks or so of January will be an option (I won't know exactly when session will start in 2014 until May 2013 so I can't plan on it until then), but there's the marathon at WDW and MLK holiday that make the parks busy right? How much difference do those things make? My husband is also kind of against going in January anyways because DD will be just over 1 and he would prefer her to be at least 1 1/2. I think I could convince him that it would be fine.
I could also go right at the end of May. In 2014 legislative session ends on May 19th so I can go anytime after that. When do the parks start to get busy for the summer? When does it start to get really hot in FL? I went in August of 2009 and it was HOT and crowded. It was just DH and I so we dealt with it just fine, but I don't really want to have to deal with hot and cranky small people if I can avoid it. I was thinking about avoiding June, July and August because of heat and crowds.
That leaves September. I could go anytime then. I'm a little worried about hurricane season. How's the weather in September? Crowds? I had thought we could go end of September and get in on MNSSHP, but I've decided to wait until the kids are older for that. And I want to go before DD turns 2 on October 2nd so that leaves the month of September.
Now here's the little monkey wrench in my plans. My niece will be in 1st grade in September 2014 and I don't think my sister is all that enthusiastic about taking her out of class in September. Mostly because school starts after Labor Day. I think she'd be OK with taking her out of class at a different time, but she's hesitant to do it after only a week or 2 in class. What does everyone think about this? We could go in October or the beginning of November, but between Thanksgiving and Christmas Nate can't take off work because he works retail. We'd also have to buy a plane ticket for DD though and we were trying to avoid having to do that. Note: I really don't want to turn this into an argument about how it's safer to have the child in their own seat on the plane so please don't flame me for that. We did it with DS and I've done my research on the matter. I respect people who feel that getting them their own seat is best, but this is our choice and we aren't bothered by it.
So see with everyone coming along it even complicates when we go. We can go in June, July and August, but I'd prefer not to. We can go in October and November, but again I'd prefer not to. However, with my niece and school those might be our only options. Nate said we should pick our dates and then tell them all that they can join us, but this is our trip and it's just when we're going. I kind of like that idea, but I don't want a fight about it either. I also don't want to have to plan around school schedules yet as I don't really have to. My kids aren't in school yet. So what would all you PPers do? I'm going to do more research on the different times of year, but I thought it didn't hurt to ask here.
I'm with your husband, I think you should decide on the dates that work for your little family. After all, it is your trip.
I've gone at the end of may, it's kind of crowded but not like the more summer months. Remember that there's Memorial Day weekend. I think the parks start getting crowded the first week of june.
With that said, I think you should go mid september. You can even celebrate your baby girl's birthday there. It is hurricane season but you can work around the rain.
Your relationship with your sister sounds like my relationship with mine. We get along well but can't be together for many days. We vacationed to Disney in 2011 and it ended being a nightmare. I wrote about it in my first trip report. It almost ruined my vacation and nobody messes with my Disney time.
I agree with your husband this is your FAMILY vacation Despite Cameron's extending an invitation to everyone he meets. If they still want to go then maybe a copy of PP of their own is in order and a hint that it contains a wealth of neat info hopefully they'll get the hint It worked with my wife.
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or maybe you will all get a good laugh at how I talk myself into and out of vacation plans. I don't know, but it's sure to be interesting as my 2 1/2 year old is likely going to have a bit of input on this trip and he is quite the spirited fellow.
go camping - I'm just not a tent kind of girl. It's something he loves to do and wants our kids exposed to. So our agreement is that we can go other places - with me pushing for a nice lakeside cabin over a tent - and then Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise, etc. every other year. It's our "family tradition". Our vacation tradition to go to WDW half as many times as I want to, but enough to keep me happy.
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I love Stitch and Tinker Bell.......hey Cameron, can I come to Dizzy World wif you?
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
If I could teach Cam how to call Disney Dining and make ADRs I might just let him take care of it all. Any luck getting Dylan and Lukas to do those things?
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