Better Late than Never: Saratoga Springs- October 26th - November 2nd 2013 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Better Late than Never: Saratoga Springs- October 26th - November 2nd 2013
I've never written a trip report before, but have now found myself in the middle of a long gap between Disney trips, and in need of some Disney magic. Quick background into the reason for my 19 month gap between trips----I started a new job in Oct 2012. It can be a little tough getting time in the summer off with my job. So, last year and this present year we planned fall trips, because in the off season, you can pretty much take any week you want. Last year, we picked a week in October....no problem. Our school district excuses up to 5 days for family vacation However this year, we were starting to rethink the fall trip, becasue my oldest is starting 8th grade, and I'm just afraid it's a bad idea. 7th grade was so much more demanding than the previous grades. It was a tough year. So, for 2014 trip, we picked a week that was all half days (due to teacher conferences)....but still wasn't feelign great about it. My youngest will also be in first year of middle school. Just wasn't feeling like it was the right decision. wrestled with it. Luckily last year the only days they missed were for Disney, and the year before (we went in the summer), they had perfect attendance. So, they don't miss alot--- but just wasn't feelign good about it.
In the mean time, I dropped down to per diem status which means I can take off whenever I want (except for my assigned holiday). My husband is able to just submit his time off--- no one has to approve, so he has no trouble. However, I made the switch to per diem too late to book something for the summer. So, after lots of thought we decided to cancel our fall trip this year, and reschedule to July of 2015, and stick with summer trips until the kids are out of school (and probably won't want to travel with mom and dad). So, now I have 11 months until my next trip, and Thought maybe I might find some Disney magic by writing a trip report for some of our last trips (going though receipts and pictures to jog my memory). They'll definitely be a bit condensed because my memory may not be as good as I hope, but better late than never right?
I thought I'd start with a trip report of our last trip. We last went to Disney in October 2013. We were there from October 26th-Nov 2nd, and stayed in a studio villa at Saratoga Springs.
__________________
Dina
Last edited by Happymommy; 08-03-2014 at 11:52 PM..
I'm Dina. I was 40yo during last trip. This was my 19th trip to Disney. We went often when I was growing up. I have been a loved WDW since I was 7 years old. Some of my favorite memories are River Country, camping at Fort Wilderness, going off the chicken exit of space mountain with my grandmother, and even found a group of friends to go for Senior Week instead of heading to the Bahamas with most of our friends. I have always loved going to Disney. I have been lucky enough to have eperienced some other trips between high school and having kids-- drove across country, Hawaii, Canada and London, but really each trip---- I wished I was in Disney. Sometimes I have guilt that we don't take the kids to many other big trips (have done DC, Baltimore, and lots of trips to beach every year), but I figure when they are old enough to travel they can choose where they want to go. I expanded our horizons twice and we drove to Disney---so they saw the south lol. I wrestle with this alot. Many years we start out planning a trip to somewhere different, but somehow we change our minds and go back to Disney. Aside from my Disney travel planning, I'm also an RN. I perform home visits for a hospital system in PA.
My husband is Joe, and was 42 yo on the last trip. This was Joe's 12th trip to Disney. He is an electrician. He never traveled to Disney prior to our having children. Believe me--- I tried for 13 years to get him to go to Disney, but he refused. He was so stubborn and refused to take a trip to an amusement park (hence my 13 year hiatus from Disney while we were dating and first married). Once my oldest was 3yo and youngest was 12 months, he agreed to take a trip so they could see Mickey. He was hooked. Two years and 4 trips later....He bought into DVC (without any reservation)
My oldest DS is Aidan. He was 13yo on our last trip. This was his 10th trip to Disney. Aidan loves computers and video games. He loves swimming on our Disney trips, and would go to AK and Epcot every day, if he could. He does not like thrill rides. He could spend all day exploring every nook and cranny at Animal Kingdom.
My youngest DS is Danny. He was 10yo on our last trip. This was also his 10th trip to Disney. He loves soccer and Sonic/pokemon video games. His favorite place in WDW is probably the Japan pavilion in Epcot, where he loves to look at all of their Sonic and pokemon items. He would go there every night if we would agree. He's also a big fan of Phineas and Ferb. Aside from video games and tv, Danny also loves soccer, Chess and Track.
Here are some pics of us just prior to our trip
__________________
Dina
Last edited by Happymommy; 08-03-2014 at 05:29 PM..
Truth was--- we had no plans! Uggh! I was the person we all shake our heads at! We knew we were going to Disney, we knew we were staying at SSR, but that's about it. I was so busy getting used to my new job--- case managing, charting at home. I never found the time to concentrate on planning our trip. The only thing I did think about was whether or not we would go to MNSSHP. We decided not to go I wanted to. I was outvoted. We had done some parties in the past. We always had bad luck in them being too crowded etc. My other concern was -- we had some concerns over MNSSHP. It was a little scary in the past. My oldest is anaphylactic to peanuts and treenuts. They give out peanut butter candy. The thought of beign around so many kids opening up reeses, and then touching the same handles etc as my son sets me into an OCD paranaoia lol. HOnestly, its fine----its just not a comfortable feeling. Its a feeling similar to baseball games, but we go because we're Phillies fans--- I know you can't put him in a bubble--- but sometimes I just wish we could haha!!!! So, I ultimately left it up to the kids. We decided if they wanted to go, we would get the tix. They didn't want to go this time. They aren't big MK fans--- and they said they'd rather do MK on a night that isnt' crowded, and go to Epcot on Halloween....ok We also decided not to do park hoppers on this trip. We all needed just a relaxing trip. I have a very late sleeper (my 13yo) who did not want to get up very early with exception of an AK day. On Summer trips we're all about getting up out and early before the heat with mid day breaks. Over the years, I've noticed on the offseason--- we usually sleep in, sometimes head to the pool and breakfast at the hotel, and hit a park in late afternoon for the night. We're very laid back Disney travelers. We've done most of the restaurants. The past few years, the boys haven't loved the restaurants. They eat alot but they love the counter service food--- they want to eat and go. Yeah-- they are hamburger and chicken nugget fans (especially those adult chicken breast nuggets---Danny could eat them every night. Sometimes the restaurants take a little long for them, so I decided to "let it go" for this trip,its vacation, and make it a counter service trip--- it will be different, but once I realized--- oh no I need to make some reservations-- it was so hard to get anythign good, I just gave up. This was a really laid back trip. !
__________________
Dina
Last edited by Happymommy; 08-03-2014 at 05:59 PM..
Sounds like you had plans for a great trip. When my kids got to be teens, they much preferred the rides to a table service dinner and my two older sons are foodies. they also liked being more spontaneous and neer needing to be at a certain place.
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Great start! This will be nice without stress of ADRs and planning around them! I am taking kids out of school for 3 days this Sept. ( first fall trip ever) and am looking forward to reading about your trip!
Looking forward to reading this. We have struggled with the issue of exposing our kids to other experiences on vacations. Small weekends here or there, we do that. Everyone is still enjoying WDW, so why not!
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However this year, we were starting to rethink the fall trip, becasue my oldest is starting 8th grade, and I'm just afraid it's a bad idea. 7th grade was so much more demanding than the previous grades. It was a tough year. So, for 2014 trip, we picked a week that was all half days (due to teacher conferences)....but still wasn't feelign great about it. My youngest will also be in first year of middle school. Just wasn't feeling like it was the right decision. wrestled with it. Luckily last year the only days they missed were for Disney, and the year before (we went in the summer), they had perfect attendance. So, they don't miss alot--- but just wasn't feelign good about it. 
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I wanted to. I was outvoted. We had done some parties in the past. We always had bad luck in them being too crowded etc. My other concern was -- we had some concerns over MNSSHP. It was a little scary in the past. My oldest is anaphylactic to peanuts and treenuts. They give out peanut butter candy. The thought of beign around so many kids opening up reeses, and then touching the same handles etc as my son sets me into an OCD paranaoia lol. HOnestly, its fine----its just not a comfortable feeling. Its a feeling similar to baseball games, but we go because we're Phillies fans--- I know you can't put him in a bubble--- but sometimes I just wish we could haha!!!! So, I ultimately left it up to the kids. We decided if they wanted to go, we would get the tix. They didn't want to go this time. They aren't big MK fans--- and they said they'd rather do MK on a night that isnt' crowded, and go to Epcot on Halloween....ok We also decided not to do park hoppers on this trip. We all needed just a relaxing trip. I have a very late sleeper (my 13yo) who did not want to get up very early with exception of an AK day. On Summer trips we're all about getting up out and early before the heat with mid day breaks. Over the years, I've noticed on the offseason--- we usually sleep in, sometimes head to the pool and breakfast at the hotel, and hit a park in late afternoon for the night. We're very laid back Disney travelers. We've done most of the restaurants. The past few years, the boys haven't loved the restaurants. They eat alot but they love the counter service food--- they want to eat and go. Yeah-- they are hamburger and chicken nugget fans (especially those adult chicken breast nuggets---Danny could eat them every night. Sometimes the restaurants take a little long for them, so I decided to "let it go" for this trip,its vacation, and make it a counter service trip--- it will be different, but once I realized--- oh no I need to make some reservations-- it was so hard to get anythign good, I just gave up. This was a really laid back trip. !
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