dragitoff
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2007
My family is kind of a big deal. I don't mean that in a Ron Burgandy kind of way. I mean, there's a lot of us so we're a big family. We haven't always been a big family. As a matter of fact, we doubled in size earlier this year. Back in Mid-January, 4 sweet little boys came to live with my wife, my 2 daughters and I. We are in the process of adoption and finalization; however they are already part of the family and being part of our family means WDW is a big part of your life.
Last week, we took our large family (as we affectionately call The Crazy 8) to WDW for the 1st time. My 14 year old daughter is an obsessive planner like me and knows the parks frontwards and backwards. My 10 year old loves going, but is like her mom and has no sense of direction so they balance us out. For this trip, we knew it would be different than any other trip we'd ever taken since we were now such a large group (my brother and his daughter also met us there pushing our party total up to 10), but also because we had 4 new members of the family experiencing WDW for the first time ranging in age from 3-8. My oldest son has experienced some trauma through his life as he came into care just after turning 5 so even some attractions/experiences would be difficult for him or his brothers.
We took every precaution to not tell the boys where we were going. They simply thought we were going to visit my father at his lake house. We packed up the car and headed out on the 4 1/2 hour drive "home" with the boys not knowing our destination. As we turned off the turnpike and started to go through one of the entrances into Disney property, we told them we weren't actually going to PawPaw's house, but we were going somewhere much better. We directed their attention to the Disney property entrance we all know so well. We got a video of their reaction when they saw the sign and it was priceless. My 6 year old nearly jumped out of his car seat he was so excited! Their reactions were awesome and a great way to officially start our Disney vacation.
We arrived at AKL Kidani Village, but unfortunately had to wait nearly 2 hours for our room. Since it should have been ready, the CM put 3 extra FP's for any MK attraction on our magic bands (with a few minor exclusions). At the time, we would've rather had our room ready; however the next day we were very happy for those extra FP's. We spent that time touring the resort and dropping a considerable sum in the game room. We turned in early in preparation of our first day in the parks.
First day was Magic Kingdom and we arrived right at rope drop (wanted to be there a little before, but late buses held us up) and went straight for Mickey meet and greet. The kids were so excited to see Mickey and enjoyed spending a few minutes talking, dancing and taking pictures. I won't go through a detailed list of the day's events, but we did a lot! We did most of the attractions Fantasyland and to the left (Frontierland, Adventureland, Liberty Square). We left the MK around 2pm and headed back to the room for a nap and a quick bite to eat before heading back to the MK for more attractions and to see the evening parade. We had a great spot for the parade sitting at the top of the train station at the end of Main St. We opted to leave after the parade since the kids were getting really tired (and mom and dad were too.)
Second day we headed back to the MK to hit the right side of the parks and catch the things we missed. We arrived about 30 minutes before park opening and made our way to the front of the pack right below the train station. We had a great spot for the rope drop ceremony and to get in once they opened the park. We headed straight for A&E since my kids love Frozen and my niece does as well. We got in quickly and the kids loved spending time with A&E. My oldest son (8 y/o) has a huge crush on Elsa and was such a fanboy when they got up to see her. The Disney photogs got some great shots of him covering his face and looking at her out of the corner of his eye (so he didn't make eye contact with her). After that, we had another great day and headed back to the room early afternoon for a nap and an early dinner reservation at Boma to celebrate my niece's 3rd birthday.
The third day we went to Epcot and had a nice day there. We scrapped our plan to tour the World Showcase in the afternoon and instead left mid-day to go back to the hotel to rest and visit with my brother and his daughter since they had to leave at noon our last day to catch their flight. The kids had a blast at Epcot though. We ordered Giordano's pizza and it was AMAZING!
The final day we planned to spend the day at AK. We had a lunch reservation at Tusker House and had to get on the road shortly after so we got most of the key attractions/shows in AK done before lunch! Thank goodness for good FP's and EMH. I tend to agree with Pete on the Dis Podcast that AK is the hottest place on earth, but we still had an amazing time. The new Harambe marketplace and Lion King theatre area were open and it was our first time seeing both of those. The character lunch was great and the kids had a blast seeing Mickey, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy. Probably most important, we all got soaked on Kali River Rapids which made all the kids exceptionally happy and the ride home not as enjoyable for mom and dad.
I got so many great suggestions prior to this trip from people on this board. We were hardcore WDW vets prior to this trip (more than 20 trips there and DL), but it was amazing how many great suggestions and things we learned especially with the new smaller kids in our group. This trip gave me a different perspective for visiting WDW and the uber planner that commando tours the parks learned to take it as it came and enjoy the parks through the eyes of my children. It was such an unbelievable time that I feel so blessed to have enjoyed.
All I kept hearing on the way home (after all the kids woke up from passing out as soon as we got in the car) was stories about their favorite attraction, character, or experience. The trip was easily the most tiring, but possibly most rewarding trip I've ever taken to WDW. I can remember my first trip as a kid, my wife and oldest daughter's first trip, my youngest daughter's first trip and my first Disneyland trip, but this was a unique experience I can't explain. To see the joy and happiness on the faces of the 4 little boys that have completely changed our lives over these past few months was something I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. They were a handful and we didn't get to do some of the things we love to do, but what a small price to pay for that laughter and happiness. That was what Disney is about and I'll remember it always.
Last week, we took our large family (as we affectionately call The Crazy 8) to WDW for the 1st time. My 14 year old daughter is an obsessive planner like me and knows the parks frontwards and backwards. My 10 year old loves going, but is like her mom and has no sense of direction so they balance us out. For this trip, we knew it would be different than any other trip we'd ever taken since we were now such a large group (my brother and his daughter also met us there pushing our party total up to 10), but also because we had 4 new members of the family experiencing WDW for the first time ranging in age from 3-8. My oldest son has experienced some trauma through his life as he came into care just after turning 5 so even some attractions/experiences would be difficult for him or his brothers.
We took every precaution to not tell the boys where we were going. They simply thought we were going to visit my father at his lake house. We packed up the car and headed out on the 4 1/2 hour drive "home" with the boys not knowing our destination. As we turned off the turnpike and started to go through one of the entrances into Disney property, we told them we weren't actually going to PawPaw's house, but we were going somewhere much better. We directed their attention to the Disney property entrance we all know so well. We got a video of their reaction when they saw the sign and it was priceless. My 6 year old nearly jumped out of his car seat he was so excited! Their reactions were awesome and a great way to officially start our Disney vacation.
We arrived at AKL Kidani Village, but unfortunately had to wait nearly 2 hours for our room. Since it should have been ready, the CM put 3 extra FP's for any MK attraction on our magic bands (with a few minor exclusions). At the time, we would've rather had our room ready; however the next day we were very happy for those extra FP's. We spent that time touring the resort and dropping a considerable sum in the game room. We turned in early in preparation of our first day in the parks.
First day was Magic Kingdom and we arrived right at rope drop (wanted to be there a little before, but late buses held us up) and went straight for Mickey meet and greet. The kids were so excited to see Mickey and enjoyed spending a few minutes talking, dancing and taking pictures. I won't go through a detailed list of the day's events, but we did a lot! We did most of the attractions Fantasyland and to the left (Frontierland, Adventureland, Liberty Square). We left the MK around 2pm and headed back to the room for a nap and a quick bite to eat before heading back to the MK for more attractions and to see the evening parade. We had a great spot for the parade sitting at the top of the train station at the end of Main St. We opted to leave after the parade since the kids were getting really tired (and mom and dad were too.)
Second day we headed back to the MK to hit the right side of the parks and catch the things we missed. We arrived about 30 minutes before park opening and made our way to the front of the pack right below the train station. We had a great spot for the rope drop ceremony and to get in once they opened the park. We headed straight for A&E since my kids love Frozen and my niece does as well. We got in quickly and the kids loved spending time with A&E. My oldest son (8 y/o) has a huge crush on Elsa and was such a fanboy when they got up to see her. The Disney photogs got some great shots of him covering his face and looking at her out of the corner of his eye (so he didn't make eye contact with her). After that, we had another great day and headed back to the room early afternoon for a nap and an early dinner reservation at Boma to celebrate my niece's 3rd birthday.
The third day we went to Epcot and had a nice day there. We scrapped our plan to tour the World Showcase in the afternoon and instead left mid-day to go back to the hotel to rest and visit with my brother and his daughter since they had to leave at noon our last day to catch their flight. The kids had a blast at Epcot though. We ordered Giordano's pizza and it was AMAZING!
The final day we planned to spend the day at AK. We had a lunch reservation at Tusker House and had to get on the road shortly after so we got most of the key attractions/shows in AK done before lunch! Thank goodness for good FP's and EMH. I tend to agree with Pete on the Dis Podcast that AK is the hottest place on earth, but we still had an amazing time. The new Harambe marketplace and Lion King theatre area were open and it was our first time seeing both of those. The character lunch was great and the kids had a blast seeing Mickey, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy. Probably most important, we all got soaked on Kali River Rapids which made all the kids exceptionally happy and the ride home not as enjoyable for mom and dad.
I got so many great suggestions prior to this trip from people on this board. We were hardcore WDW vets prior to this trip (more than 20 trips there and DL), but it was amazing how many great suggestions and things we learned especially with the new smaller kids in our group. This trip gave me a different perspective for visiting WDW and the uber planner that commando tours the parks learned to take it as it came and enjoy the parks through the eyes of my children. It was such an unbelievable time that I feel so blessed to have enjoyed.
All I kept hearing on the way home (after all the kids woke up from passing out as soon as we got in the car) was stories about their favorite attraction, character, or experience. The trip was easily the most tiring, but possibly most rewarding trip I've ever taken to WDW. I can remember my first trip as a kid, my wife and oldest daughter's first trip, my youngest daughter's first trip and my first Disneyland trip, but this was a unique experience I can't explain. To see the joy and happiness on the faces of the 4 little boys that have completely changed our lives over these past few months was something I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. They were a handful and we didn't get to do some of the things we love to do, but what a small price to pay for that laughter and happiness. That was what Disney is about and I'll remember it always.
