The Great Disney Do-Over—PTR for Aug 2010 - UPDATED 8/2 About This Page:

[benjiboo25]

The Great Disney Do-Over—PTR for Aug 2010

This is my first trip report. Sorry if it gets a bit clumsy. I would love encouragement to keep going…

Cast Members: (more detailed intros later)
Me-Shelly(35)-With only one visit, I should not be this obsessed with WDW
DH (37)- Wants to take family vacations, doesn’t want to plan them, so is happy to go to WDW
DS (8)-Excited he gets to take the trip of a lifetime…one more time
DD (5 ¾)- We can thank the princesses for her development
DD (3)-Excited to be…anywhere!

When we are going: August 13-21

Staying at: Beach Club!!!!!

Why? To understand the need for a Do-Over, you need to know about our last trip. The first few entries below are more of a trip report from Nov 2009 than a true pre-trip report, but I will do my best to tie it all back together.

Our first trip EVER was November 2009 with a GG totaling 17 people. My DHs sister moved to FL about 10 years ago, where she met a native FL, married and started a family. We have talked for years about doing a big family trip to WDW. We were the holdouts. We kept having kids! As soon as our last child was “old enough” and we no longer needed to save $ for the next baby, we started planning our trip. With experts to guide us, it would be great! Although many people will cringe at the idea of a GG with the in-laws, I truly adore my DHs family. I am closer to his mom than my own. His sisters are the sisters I never had. Let the planning begin (January 2008)…

[lissybri]

Great start Shelly. Can't wait to hear about your previous trip, even though it sounds like something went wrong when you need a do-over. We went with extended family for the first time last year and it was quite interesting to say the least, lol. You're so lucky to be staying at BC. I would love to stay there someday. More please.

[lazanya]

Great start!

[Cam22]

Great start, Shelly! Can't wait for more!

[Colexis Mom]

Great start Shelly!

[JoJayMom]

Great Start!! Can't wait for more!

[benjiboo25]

Thanks for all of the encouragement!

Let the planning begin (January 2008)

Our family of 5 were the only people in the group who had never been to WDW, so we were thrilled to have the guidance and expertise of someone who had grown up with WDW in his “backyard.”
We had originally talked about a Christmas trip to WDW because I am a teacher and my schedule is limited to school breaks and summers. When we looked at the prices, we quickly learned that Christmas was more expensive and more crowded than other times of the year. The others started talking about October and January. It looked like we were not going to have the big family trip as planned.

We had been talking to our kids about this trip for years, and decided that we would do it no matter what. We settled on Thanksgiving week. The others were still looking at Oct or Jan. This one of the first tensions I had ever had with my DHs family. I felt like I was getting in the way of a family dream.

Since we would not longer have our expert guide, I started doing my own research. We would be staying at CSR. (Our youngest was not yet 3, so we were still a family of four by WDW standards.) We chose CSR because it was the only moderate with queen size beds. I discovered the Passporter, I discovered these boards (as a lurker, only, at that time). I started making plans for parks, eats, and activities that would fit our family’s style. More on that next…

[benjiboo25]

We are not family that “goes with the flow” very well. I am an admitted control freak. I like to think that I am easier to deal with than many other control freaks since I am aware of my crazies, and I can make fun of myself about it. I am open, direct and wear my heart and thoughts on my sleeve. I try to find joy in all things. People always know where I stand. J

DH appears to the world as super easy going and relaxed.

DS (8) has ADD. He is very smart and loves to be the center of attention. He gets along well with everyone except his DS (5).

DD (5) has a mild form of Aspergers. We are fortunate that she can often “blend in” well with other kids her age. She is very bright, and can communicate well, especially with adults. However, like many ASD kids, new situations, sensory overloads and lack of structure or downtime can bring on meltdowns and periods of complete disengagement. We had high hopes for her at WDW because she loves princesses; in fact, they had been her obsession. When we realized that she respected Cinderella, Snow White and the rest more than mom and dad, we started using their stories to teach DD lessons on manners and social interaction. She learned how to be a good friend from Belle, and she learned how to be kind to animals from Snow White. Whenever she was having trouble complying with a request, we could ask her to think about how Cinderella may act in this situation. Once she could determine how a princess would act, she was able to change her behavior or attitude to match what she thought a princess would do. Although just in kindergarten, she has an amazing ability to read and understand words, but she resisted "formal reading," until we started introducing princess books. With the help of princess books and stories, DD started kindergarten reading at a 3rd grade level.

DD(3) is a joyous and energetic toddler. She is the easy going one. She will say her job in the family is “to make everybody happy.” She is almost always happy, and seems to know how to break tensions with jokes and silly looks. However, she is still a toddler. She also has a severe dairy allergy. That is our biggest challenge with her.

Because of our unique family temperaments, the WDW plan I was crafting included down time, pool time, avoiding EMHs, and, most important of all, avoiding MK on Thanksgiving. We would do the DDP, and the one TS meal a day would act as a built in break for our family. I was choosing restaurants that could cater easily to food allergies, and could provide lots of character interactions, knowing that we would have a tough time standing in long greeting lines.

And then…

[benjiboo25]

And then…

Just a few weeks into the planning, we were thrilled to find out the others had jumped on board for a Thanksgiving trip!


The reality of planning a trip for 16 people:

Although I had spent some time learning about WDW, I was still the newbie, and we now had many other family styles to please during our trip. So when we met to plan our trip, I had to make many compromises. The others would likely say they had to do the same as well, but this is my trip report so I am only thinking of me (heehee). I tried to fight for some of the things that I thought mattered most to us, but I really did not want to be difficult. Others were already spending more $ to go at a time when we could all be there because of my schedule.

When DSIL (from MN) decided to bring along a teenage neighbor girl to help with her own two kids, she tried to get us all to move to POR, which could accommodate five people in a room. I said our family would need to stay at CSR because of the queen size beds, but that we would understand if they wanted to move resorts. Everyone stayed at CSR, with the teenage girl being added to the guest lists in the room of DSIL (from FL). I felt this was yet another problem I caused because we could not just go with the flow…

[Colexis Mom]

More great updates!

[stubekis]

I'd say you are doing fabulous for first PTR since I can't wait to hear what happens next! More please!

[mojjo]

Great updates so far.

And you have to do what's best for your kids...if people are that hung up on everyone staying at one resort...that's on them.

[Mommy Princess]

Very enjoyable PTR! Looking forward to more!

[benjiboo25]

Thanks for reading and for the encouragement. Its fun to keep posting when people are actually reading it!

[Cam22]

I the background! And your cast of characters was very interesting!