February 2022: Going Back Home

[disneyjes]

Hello, my fellow Disney nerds! I am Jess and I will be your host on this pre-trip adventure. Let me introduce you to the crew!




First up, we have L! L was 9 (he's 14 now) in this photo but it will probably always be my favorite photo of him at WDW. This was during our very first WDW trip and he was SO happy to meet Donald! The look of pure happiness on his face makes me the happiest momma!

Favorite Character: Stitch & Donald Duck
Favorite Ride: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Favorite Show: Fantasmic!
Favorite TV Show: Jessie
Favorite Movie: Finding Dory
Favorite Restaurant: Pizza Planet
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom or Epcot
Favorite Hotel: Pop Century
Favorite Villain: Oogie Boogie

L is a freshman in high school which is still absolutely insane to me. He's been doing online learning since last March so it hasn't completely hit that he's in high school now! When life is normal he enjoys swimming competitively, basketball, running track, and hanging out with his friends. During quarantine, he has been really enjoying learning about new places via VR, and of course, he loves gaming, haha.

This will be his 3rd trip to WDW and he is so excited. We were meant to go last year but then the virus hit and all plans changed. He's most excited about the food. We are a gluten-free family and Disney is literally the best place to eat. He loves that he can get anything he wants and it is safe for him.



This is my amazing husband, D. D has never been to WDW before! He's not as big of a Disney nut as L and I are, but, he's getting there. He kinda has no choice, haha! Seriously though, he does love Disney and his Disney love grows all the time! He's still learning all about the movies and the characters though. Don't worry! I have a plan to solve that. I'll explain later.

Favorite Character: Stitch
Favorite Ride: N/A
Favorite Park Show: N/A
Favorite TV Show: Recess
Favorite Movie: Up, Ratatouille, Wall-E, Moana, and Lilo and Stitch.
Favorite Restaurant: N/A
Favorite Park: He thinks it is going to be Animal Kingdom.
Favorite Hotel: N/A
Favorite Villain: Chef Skinner

D is also really excited about Universal as we plan on going there, too! He's never been there either but he's really into roller coasters so he can't wait to ride all the coasters! He's a huge Mario fan (aren't we all, though?) so he insists we have to go again when Super Nintendo World opens. I'm not complaining, haha!



And lastly, it is I! I have been a Disney fanatic since I saw The Little Mermaid in the theatre. I had always wanted to go to WDW but it just never was in the cards when I was a kid. L and I were finally able to go in 2015 for the first time and then again in 2016 and we have missed our "home" so much!

Favorite Character: Ariel, Moana, and Merida. I refuse to pick just one.
Favorite Ride: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad & Splash Mountain
Favorite Park Show: Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular
Favorite TV Show: Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
Favorite Movie: The Little Mermaid, Up, & Hocus Pocus
Favorite Restaurant: La Cantina de San Angel
Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom and Epcot are tied.
Favorite Hotel: Pop Century
Favorite Villain: Chernabog

I am a professional video editor and a voice actor and in my spare time, I love gaming, reading, traveling, and playing board games. I am most excited about everything having to do with the trip but I really cannot wait to just go sit in front of the castle and soak in the magic of just being there. I also look forward to being able to eat wherever we go and not have to worry about getting glutened! Mostly, I just cannot wait to go make some amazing memories with my family.


Okay, that's all of us! I'm so excited to be here!

 

[disneyjes]

Table Of Contents

Introduction to the cast
The Plan .... as of right now, at least!
A Small Pondering Update

 

[disneyjes]

The Plan .... as of right now, at least!

We are currently trying to figure out how long of a trip we'd like to plan. We're currently leaning towards 8D7N WDW and 2D1N at Universal but we're also considering 6D5N WDW and 2D1N Universal. I'm personally hoping for the first one, haha, but it just depends on a few other factors. We'll have it figured out for certain soon.

Usually, we drive down to WDW. We're in NY so it's an 18-hour drive each way. This time, we're flying! It will be L's first time on a plane! He's very excited! (and a bit nervous but he's trying to hide that.) I'm very excited that we don't have to drive this time around. Don't get me wrong, I love road trips, but, I really just want as much WDW time as possible, haha.

Now, as I mentioned in the introductions, D doesn't have nearly as much Disney knowledge as L and I do. So, I have a plan! Every week I will be planning a family movie and matching dinner night! I did this for the first time L and I went to WDW to introduce him to everything and he LOVED it. He said it really helped him to get to know the characters before we went. So I suggested this to my darling husband and he was super excited at the idea! So this week I will begin putting together my 52 weeks of dinners and movies and I'll be sure to share all of that here every week!

 

[disneyjes]

A small pondering update...

We are now considering doing 2 smaller trips instead of 1 large trip. I am a freelancer and so it's a bit harder for me to get time off as I tend to work 6 (usually 7) days a week. So we were thinking two 5 day vacations would work! Nothing is set in stone just yet, but, this is another option we are considering.

If we go this route, I might just try to convince the hubs that Annual Passes would be the way to go.... LOL.

I've also begun making my list of movies & dinners and I found out that my husband has never seen any of the Star Wars movies! I've seen most of them, but not the most recent ones. I like Star Wars and so does the kiddo, but, we're not hardcore fans. This will definitely be interesting to see how D reacts. Maybe he'll end up liking them!

 

[DLo]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[disneyjes]

Following along. Looking forward to reading more.

Hi there! Thank you so much for stopping by. It's so nice to meet you!

 

[Lindseyncole]

My husband is a video editor- was trying to convince him to “work” some from vacation to be able to stay longer. But two 5 day trips sound even better!