The New Family Tradition PTR
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stardust190 · 06-09-2011, 02:43 PM

I'm going to try to write another PTR/TR. I started one for my honeymoon back in 2009. I'm pretty sure I kept up with the PTR, but sadly the TR never happened. I blame it on life getting in the way of Disney. My boss quit while I was on my honeymoon so I came back to a stressful situation at work. Then 4 months later I was pregnant and ended up having a difficult pregnancy. This left no time or energy to write a TR. Being a busy new mom didn't help either. Now that I have time to write a TR I don't remember enough details about the honeymoon to bother writing the TR. So I'm going to write one for our next trip. And I'm determined to write this one because it will be the first trip for DS and I want to remember it! So enough excuses about the non-TR for my last trip and on to this one.

Back story

DH and I WDW. Actually we DL too. I've been to both several times as a child - my DH once when he was younger. Growing up I always wanted to go to WDW every year, but my father didn't like spending the $$ so we never made it that often - even though I was always begging my parents. So I always said that when I had kids I would take them yearly.

So when DH (DBF at the time) and I were planning our first vacation together in 2006 I suggested WDW. His response: "I don't want to spend my whole vacation at Disney." It made me sad. I wanted someone who would go with me yearly - not someone who didn't want to go. Maybe it was time to find a different BF. I was able to convince him to go to California and I planned a day for us at DL. I would convert him if I had to.

We went on our tirp in 2006 and had a great time everywhere we went: the ocean, Sea World, Old Town San Diego, hiking at the state parks. It was a great trip! We went to DL the second day of our trip and DH loved it. He thought it was just wonderful there and didn't want to leave when the park closed for the day. For the entire trip he kept saying "Let's go back to DL.", but we had other reservations and plans so we never made it back. It did give me hope for the future though.

Then when we were planning our 2007 vacation I suggested WDW - thinking he would jump on the chance as he loved DL - and I was shot down! DH was brought up camping and really wanted to take me camping. I had never been camping and am more of a "cabin" girl. And by "cabin" I mean a nice log structure that has comfy beds, electricity and a nice big tub to soak in - not a little hut with cots. Sleeping in a tent had little appeal to me. We were still dating at the time and so I was willing to bend a little more for him to impress him so camping it was. We had a lovely time and I get the appeal of being outside and hiking and cooking on the campfire - especially the s'mores - but I'm still a "cabin" girl.

In 2008 I figured I had a pretty good shot of getting him to go to WDW as I had slept outside with the bugs for him the year before. Plus we had just gotten engaged and had lots of reasons to celebrate. I talked to DH and he wasn't opposed So I started planning. We would have to go in the summer because of my job and my DH only gets 1 1/2 weeks of vacation a year so we could only swing a week trip, but I could work with that Then things fell apart and I needed surgery and the trip didn't happen.

So with getting married in 2009 I figured this was my year to go to WDW. And it was! DH agreed to honeymoon in the house of mouse! We went and had a wonderful time. Except for we got married in August and had our honeymoon in the Flordia heat. Drinks at AK and hot weather make for a sick girl. Other than that it was just wonderful. We loved our resort (CS) and spent 2 days at Epcot and 2 days at MK. Plus a day each at DHS and AK. And a day hopping between them. We were on the dining plan and ate way too much, but didn't gain an ounce because we were going and going and going! We really had the "We must see as much as possible" touring style. It worked for us and we had the best time.

When we got back we were reminiscing about the trip and DH said while he LOVED the trip he doesn't want to go every year. With only getting 1 1/2 weeks of vacation we can really only take one vacation a year and he wants to see other places besides WDW. I was a little heart broken, but in all honesty I think it will be good to visit other places. As long as I don't have to sleep in a tent! So we agreed we would try to go every other year.

So that's the back story. Up next - will we really go every other year?

**Colexis Mom** · 06-09-2011, 02:52 PM

Great start Missy!

daddyof2princessess · 06-09-2011, 03:28 PM

My DW had an impossible time getting me to go. Now it feels like she makes me wait forever. The day is coming. Great start look forward to more!

Pixar Pixie · 06-09-2011, 04:30 PM

Great start, more please!

stardust190 · 06-09-2011, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daddyof2princessess

My DW had an impossible time getting me to go. Now it feels like she makes me wait forever. The day is coming. Great start look forward to more!

Does that mean there is hope yet for yearly trips for our family?

Jakesmom1118 · 06-09-2011, 09:21 PM

Great start! I know what you are going through, my DBF says he isn't going to Disney after this trip and he means never ever again. His reason is the same as your DH, and I agree seeing other places is good....but I wanna go to Disney every year too! Can't wait to see more!

stardust190 · 06-10-2011, 08:41 AM

So with DH agreeing to go to WDW every other year I knew 2011 would be the next trip. I was so busy after our honeymoon I didn't really have time to think about it and then with our son arriving in July 2010 I hadn't given a Disney trip much thought. Being a parent sure keeps you busy. I had been told that it would, but didn't understand it until DS arrived.

There was really no vacation for us in 2010 as I can only vacation in the summer and was either miserable and pregnant or sleep deprived with a newborn. Plus my maternity leave drained our finances a little. So we really didn't get the non-Disney vacation that my DH wanted for 2010. But 2011 is my year to go to WDW!

I wasn't really sure how my DH would react to me bringing up going to WDW in 2011 as DS won't even be 1 until mid-July and my sister took my niece when she was 1 1/2 and DH thought it was stupid as she wouldn't remember anything about the trip. So I just had my DH take some time off in June and would bring up the trip at another time. We scheduled our vacation time in March for June 18th-26th. I knew I would need to get on planning a WDW vacation if we were going to go in June as I have to have a well defined plan or I go crazy. So I brought it up to DH and he was a little hesitant at first talking about how DS wouldn't remember it and so on, but I reminded him that we were going ever other year and that eventually DS would remember it. Besides DS is just along for the ride at this point so what difference does it make where we go as long as we like our destination.

DH started to see the light and got really excited about going in June. I was pricing things out and we were talking resort choices and everything. We are going to WDW! Then for some reason I started to second guess bringing DS down to WDW. I've never traveled with a baby before. I have no experience with that. We've taken DS on trips to visit my grandmother for the weekend (a 2 1/2 hour trip), but never for a week, never on a plane, and never since he's become mobile and doesn't want to sit still for long periods of time. Plus there are huge crowds at WDW in June and it is quite warm - at least I think the crowds will be huge and it will be hot. Plus we are having a lot of outdoor work done on the house that is costing us a lot of money. So I told DH that we shouldn't go to WDW and he was heartbroken. Well maybe not heartbroken, but he was definitely disappointed. He tried to convince me to go in June, but for some reason I just wasn't having it. And I was crying about it. Must be that having a baby wrecked my brain. I'll blame the hormones.

Instead of WDW I planned for half of our week off in June to be spent around home doing activities in Minneapolis that we normally don't have time to do. And half of our week off to be spent up in Duluth at a water park resort (about 2 1/2 hours away from our home). I told my DH that I would reconsider a WDW trip after we found out how DS does on a trip. Then my parents asked us to join them on a trip in July to another water park resort in Wisconsin Dells. Since my sister and her kids were also going on that trip we decided we would go for a long weekend. I figured if those trips go well that we could look into a Disney trip for next year before DS turns 2 and has to pay for airfare.

In about mid-May I started regretting my decision to not go to WDW in June. And my DH basically said "I told you so." Stupid DH. But there was not enough time to change our plans to go to WDW in June. At least not enough time for me the planner. So that wasn't going to happen. Besides I still think it's a good idea to see how DS does on these other trips so that I know what to expect before flying all the way down to FL. Then I remembered that I no longer have to wait until summer as I switched jobs and can vacation in the winter. It has been 5 years since I've been able to travel in the winter because of my job. I started looking into December, January, February and March. And I had the full support of DH! So unless we go in December we're not going in 2011, but 2012 is close enough! So it will be a Disney trip a half a year late, but it's still my trip! And DH agrees that our next trip can be in 2014. As long as nothing critical comes up in our lives. I think by that he's thinking baby #2, but I'm not going to worry about that now. We're going to go to WDW!!!

Up next - the actual PTR with our introductions and tentative plans.

stardust190 · 06-10-2011, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jakesmom1118

Great start! I know what you are going through, my DBF says he isn't going to Disney after this trip and he means never ever again. His reason is the same as your DH, and I agree seeing other places is good....but I wanna go to Disney every year too! Can't wait to see more!

Maybe your DBF will come around like my DH did. It can happen. And I'm starting to like the trips that DH plans for our Disney free years. It is nice to see other parts of the country.

Silver-n-Gold · 06-10-2011, 08:52 AM

Great start!

Either they come around or they don't. My husband knows how much the kids & I love Disney, he gets tired of it but it's "our thing" & even though he always says we can just go without him...he ends up along for the ride & believe it or not he survives, lol!

**Colexis Mom** · 06-10-2011, 08:53 AM

Sorry about the June trip but at least you're still going!

OCEANGRLLG · 06-10-2011, 09:24 AM

Great start! Sorry yall are not able to go in June, but 2012 you are goin!!!!! We are gettin to go back in 2012 (Aug.) also! It has been way to long for us....last trip was 2008

so yea, its time to get back!

stardust190 · 06-10-2011, 10:13 AM

So when it comes to taking DS to WDW I am really at a loss. We haven't traveled much with him so I may change my plans several times, but I've got an outline of what I think our trip should be. Let me start with a few introductions:

DH (AKA Nate) - 28 (at time of trip). A reluctant WDW traveler who actually loves it, but needed convincing to go every other year. Never wants to leave when we are there, but has this rule that we also have to go visit other places and loves to camp. In. a. tent. Aside from that he's really the best husband and father to our son that I could have ever asked for. Works for Target as a store level manager, but has an IT degree and is trying to get into that field, but no jobs are available in our area.

Me (AKA Missy) - 29 (at time of trip). A WDW fanatic who would go yearly (who am I kidding bi-yearly) if she could. Although I really do have fun on the non-Disney trips my DH comes up with. The planner of the family (some would call it OCD) and first time mom to a little stinker. Works as a computer programmer for a laid back agency (finally!).

DS (AKA Cameron) - 18 months (at time of trip). The aforementioned little stinker. And future WDW fanatic - if his mamma has anything to say about it. Fairly easy going kid, but has a hard time napping while out and about - we'll see how that works for us. LOVES Mickey Mouse! He lights up like a Christmas Tree whenever he see's the big cheese. Must be all the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse he watches over at Grandma's house. It will be interesting to see how he does when MM is larger than his parents. or ?

We're just a wholesome family from Minnesota. People have said we're crazy for bringing our son at such a young age, but we love it at WDW and want to go ourselves. Besides he's essentially free right now so why not? Maybe he won't remember, but that is what the next trip is for right?

Travel Dates: The exact dates aren't set in stone yet, but it's definitely going to be for 7 nights/8 days between MLK and Presidents Day weekend. Low costs, low crowds and low temperatures. It will be a new experience to not melt in Disney from the heat. And the low crowds will be a plus especially with the little one.

Hotel: We want to stay on property so we don't have to drive at all. I love not having to play the "where do we turn", "um.... back there" game. And we've had such good luck with Disney transportation. I seriously considered staying on the monorail so that it would be easy to bring DS back to the resort for his naps. And although we could afford it, I can find so many other things to do with the money we will save by staying elsewhere. Plus I feel like a Disney hotel is likely better than a non-Disney hotel no matter if you stay at a Value, Moderate or a Deluxe. We loved CS when we stayed there in 2009, but I wanted to give somewhere else a try. I looked at the other moderates and also the values. With staying at the values we'll save even more money to have fun with (and build the deck that I want on my house!). So I posted on here asking what people thought about the values and got some great responses. I've settled in on Pop! So that's where we will be staying as soon as I pick our exact dates and can make the reservation.

Dining: We're going to forgo the dining plan for this trip. We were on the regular dining plan in 2009 and it was too much food for us. I'm more of a snacker when I'm on vacation and I found with the CS and TS meals per day I didn't have room for very many Mickey bars or Dole Whips. Plus with TS you need more reservations and I'm unsure if we would be able to make it to reservations with DS. I'd rather just play the trip by ear and adjust to what DS needs. Of course we might end up spending more than if we had the dining plan. IDK. We'll find out. I do plan on making a reservation for 1 character meal and possibly a stop at Le Cellier as my DH hasn't stopped talking about that place since we left WDW. If I do make that ressie I'm not telling DH. It will be a surprise.

Touring Plans: For an 8 day trip I'm only planning on getting 5 days of park tickets. And I'm going to skip the hopper as well. If it was just DH and I we would get 8 days of park tickets hoppers and all, but with DS I feel like we need to take it slow on this trip. I'm also going to leave a lot open ended so we can adjust if need be. That's really hard for a planner like me, but I feel like our vacation will go better that way. A baby changes everything! I'm thinking of flying out early morning - though not too early - and getting to WDW by mid-afternoon. We'll just hang out by the resort or take a leisurely stroll in DTD. Or maybe head to Beaches and Cream for a treat We've never done that before as we're always too busy, but I've always wanted to. We'll go to MK one day then Epcot then AK then have a restful day swimming and such. Then make our final rounds at MK and Epcot for our final two park days. Then fly out in late afternoon/early evening after taking it easy in the morning. We're sad to cut out DHS, but DH refuses to do less than 2 days at Epcot and I think 2 days at MK is perfect. We both agree DS would like AK better than DHS as he's an animal lover even now. So it's sad to miss RnR and ToT, but it is probably for the best. Besides DH and I couldn't ride those together and I'm sure the random guy sitting next to me on ToT would not appreciate having my finger nails dig into his hands.

Travel: We're going to be flying. I still haven't made my airline reservations as I'm waiting for a good deal. However, we don't fly much so I'm not sure what a "good deal" from Minneapolis to Orlando is. Maybe I need to post in the Getting There forum... I just know we'll be taking a plane and I won't do anything but a non-stop flight with DS. I'm planning on not getting DS a seat. He can be a lap baby. I'm hoping I won't regret that decision, but it will allow us to spend more money on him while in WDW.

So that's the trip highlights. I'm still nervous about taking DS when he is only 18 months, but I'm sure it will be fine. Plus I'm super excited that he gets to go there for the first time. Maybe I'll change our plans several times before we actually go, but we'll see what happens.

Up next - What on earth do you need to bring for a 18 month old when going to WDW?