Good morning! I'm not sure this will be terribly interesting, but I wanted to write a quick trip report. 2 reasons: 1 - so I will have it all down for eternity and will never forget, and 2 - provide an off-site trip report, as I don't see a lot of those.
Our crew:
Me - mb - 36 years old, big Disney fan, former CM (CP years ago), SAHM
DH - Jason - 36 years old, Disney newbie when I took him to DW the year we were married (2003), software developer
DS1 - JV - 7 years old, Star Wars/MineCraft fan, hearing impaired so I'll have a bit of info about how that worked into our vacation a little later
DS2 - AB - 5 years old, Cars/MineCraft/Buzz Lightyear fan, and he brought along multiple "Baby Kitties" - little gray striped tiger cat Beanie Babies that we have collected. He must have a Baby Kitty with him at all times.
DS3 - CW - almost 2 years old, not a fan of much other than mommy right now. Hates water with every ounce of his being.
Beppe - my mama, LOVES Disney, about to retire soon and is determined to get a seasonal job at WDW selling popcorn on Main Street.
So, that's our crew for this trip.
In 1978, when I was 2 years old, my grandparents (mama's parents) took my mama, myself and my older brother, and my cousin to DW for the first time. They continued to take us every 2 years for about 10 years, then my mama would take us every 2 years, with my dad joining us sometimes. Not being a patient man, WDW was not where he liked to vacation. (However, after he was diagnosed with cancer and had his first grandson, he couldn't wait to get to WDW and went 3 more times in 4 years before he passed away.) Then in college, I did the CP, and for years after worked seasonally, so my mama and I visited from NC often. So you could say we are big fans!
Once I married a Disney Newbie, and took him to WDW for the first time, though, life kind of took over, and we only went 2 times in 6 years. We took all 3 kids when the baby was a newborn, but haven't been back since. We had talked about doing a big trip with our entire family (brother and his wife/kids, other brothers, cousins, etc.) but the timing just wasn't working out. So my husband and I decided to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary with a trip to Normandy, France to visit the D-Day beaches. We planned itineraries, searched flights and B&B's, and dreamed about it for about 2 months. Then one day in March, as we were trying to pin down dates for the France trip, he just started talking about Disney. And how he couldn't wait to take the kids back. We talked about how we couldn't financially do both trips in one year. I was shocked when he said that he had rather wait until the boys were older and take them with us to France, and do Disney this year. He also was anxious about leaving the boys here for 10 days without us - not that he was worried about my mama or aunt taking care of them, but he didn't like the idea of not being with them himself.
Pre-Trip Info:
SO, in a matter of minutes, our plans switched from France to Orlando!!! Knowing how much my mama loves WDW, I asked Jason about her tagging along. He said he assumed she would be going. He and my mama get along fabulously. I think she likes him more than she likes me. And she babysits for us on vacation so we can have date night! I immediately called her, and she was IN. She's retiring in August, after 40 years as a dietitian, and decided she would get an AP so she can visit as much as she wants in the next year.
We decided on the first week of June. On-site was out of the question, as we really wanted space, and are not willing to pay Disney $$$ for said space. We've stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek before, and love it, but no 3 bedrooms were available. I researched online, on the Disboards, asked around, made phone calls, and decided that a townhome with a private pool in Windsor Hills was the way to go for us this trip.
So in April, I found Bambi's Bungalow (through Florida Sun Vacation Homes) for a great deal for 9 nights. The plan was for my mama and I to take the kids with us early on Friday, May 31, and drive to Kissimmee, check in, then I would go pick up Jason from the airport that evening. Jason would be flying for 2 reasons: 1 - so he could save a PTO day, and still get there about the same time we did, and 2 - he has a really bad back. Really bad. In September, he injured his back and was literally on hands and knees for 5 days. We were out of town for a funeral, and had to extend our time there by 4 days. He rode in the back of our van all the way home (4 hours) on a make-shift bed. It took 4 weeks for him to return to a normal gait, and now we don't take chances. I didn't want him riding in our van for 9 hours, as it hurts his back just for the half-hour it takes us to run errands or go to church as it is.
About 2 weeks before we left, my mama and I were talking, about the trip, and discussing ways to break it up. What if we left on Thursday, drove a few hours, stopped for the night, and continued in the morning? Bingo! New plan: she had to work til 2pm on Thursday, May 30; she would leave work and drive the 4 hours to my house, where my car would already be loaded. While she freshened up, I would load her things into the van, and we would leave Charlotte by 6:30, drive to St. Augustine, arrive there around 2am, stay at a hotel, sleep in, drive to the beach for an hour or 2, return to the hotel for showers, then drive into Kissimmee from there, arriving by 3pm.
So, that's how this trip happened! For me, a natural planner who plans Disney trips 6-8 months in advance, this trip happened very quickly. We thought about surprising the kids, but I know I can't keep my big mouth shut, and I knew that the trip was a great opportunity for incentive for the boys to stay in line, so we told them immediately and initiated the "Gold Doubloon Program". I had some cheap pirate-style gold doubloons; each of the older boys received a cup with their name on it. Sometimes when I caught them being really good kids (obeying immediately, not whining when they may have normally whined, helping without being asked, etc.), I would put a dime or quarter in their cup, or even an IOU on a piece of paper (hey, they are 5 and 7, they don't know the difference between ten cents and ten dollars right now). When they were REALLY good, they earned a GOLD DOUBLOON; a gold doubloon is worth $5. I think each boy earned 4 doubloons over the 2 months leading up to the trip, and an additional 2 while on the trip. So that was their spending money, though we did help out with a couple of items.
Departure day coming up!!!
Our crew:
Me - mb - 36 years old, big Disney fan, former CM (CP years ago), SAHM
DH - Jason - 36 years old, Disney newbie when I took him to DW the year we were married (2003), software developer
DS1 - JV - 7 years old, Star Wars/MineCraft fan, hearing impaired so I'll have a bit of info about how that worked into our vacation a little later
DS2 - AB - 5 years old, Cars/MineCraft/Buzz Lightyear fan, and he brought along multiple "Baby Kitties" - little gray striped tiger cat Beanie Babies that we have collected. He must have a Baby Kitty with him at all times.
DS3 - CW - almost 2 years old, not a fan of much other than mommy right now. Hates water with every ounce of his being.
Beppe - my mama, LOVES Disney, about to retire soon and is determined to get a seasonal job at WDW selling popcorn on Main Street.
So, that's our crew for this trip.
In 1978, when I was 2 years old, my grandparents (mama's parents) took my mama, myself and my older brother, and my cousin to DW for the first time. They continued to take us every 2 years for about 10 years, then my mama would take us every 2 years, with my dad joining us sometimes. Not being a patient man, WDW was not where he liked to vacation. (However, after he was diagnosed with cancer and had his first grandson, he couldn't wait to get to WDW and went 3 more times in 4 years before he passed away.) Then in college, I did the CP, and for years after worked seasonally, so my mama and I visited from NC often. So you could say we are big fans!
Once I married a Disney Newbie, and took him to WDW for the first time, though, life kind of took over, and we only went 2 times in 6 years. We took all 3 kids when the baby was a newborn, but haven't been back since. We had talked about doing a big trip with our entire family (brother and his wife/kids, other brothers, cousins, etc.) but the timing just wasn't working out. So my husband and I decided to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary with a trip to Normandy, France to visit the D-Day beaches. We planned itineraries, searched flights and B&B's, and dreamed about it for about 2 months. Then one day in March, as we were trying to pin down dates for the France trip, he just started talking about Disney. And how he couldn't wait to take the kids back. We talked about how we couldn't financially do both trips in one year. I was shocked when he said that he had rather wait until the boys were older and take them with us to France, and do Disney this year. He also was anxious about leaving the boys here for 10 days without us - not that he was worried about my mama or aunt taking care of them, but he didn't like the idea of not being with them himself.
Pre-Trip Info:
SO, in a matter of minutes, our plans switched from France to Orlando!!! Knowing how much my mama loves WDW, I asked Jason about her tagging along. He said he assumed she would be going. He and my mama get along fabulously. I think she likes him more than she likes me. And she babysits for us on vacation so we can have date night! I immediately called her, and she was IN. She's retiring in August, after 40 years as a dietitian, and decided she would get an AP so she can visit as much as she wants in the next year.
We decided on the first week of June. On-site was out of the question, as we really wanted space, and are not willing to pay Disney $$$ for said space. We've stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek before, and love it, but no 3 bedrooms were available. I researched online, on the Disboards, asked around, made phone calls, and decided that a townhome with a private pool in Windsor Hills was the way to go for us this trip.
So in April, I found Bambi's Bungalow (through Florida Sun Vacation Homes) for a great deal for 9 nights. The plan was for my mama and I to take the kids with us early on Friday, May 31, and drive to Kissimmee, check in, then I would go pick up Jason from the airport that evening. Jason would be flying for 2 reasons: 1 - so he could save a PTO day, and still get there about the same time we did, and 2 - he has a really bad back. Really bad. In September, he injured his back and was literally on hands and knees for 5 days. We were out of town for a funeral, and had to extend our time there by 4 days. He rode in the back of our van all the way home (4 hours) on a make-shift bed. It took 4 weeks for him to return to a normal gait, and now we don't take chances. I didn't want him riding in our van for 9 hours, as it hurts his back just for the half-hour it takes us to run errands or go to church as it is.
About 2 weeks before we left, my mama and I were talking, about the trip, and discussing ways to break it up. What if we left on Thursday, drove a few hours, stopped for the night, and continued in the morning? Bingo! New plan: she had to work til 2pm on Thursday, May 30; she would leave work and drive the 4 hours to my house, where my car would already be loaded. While she freshened up, I would load her things into the van, and we would leave Charlotte by 6:30, drive to St. Augustine, arrive there around 2am, stay at a hotel, sleep in, drive to the beach for an hour or 2, return to the hotel for showers, then drive into Kissimmee from there, arriving by 3pm.
So, that's how this trip happened! For me, a natural planner who plans Disney trips 6-8 months in advance, this trip happened very quickly. We thought about surprising the kids, but I know I can't keep my big mouth shut, and I knew that the trip was a great opportunity for incentive for the boys to stay in line, so we told them immediately and initiated the "Gold Doubloon Program". I had some cheap pirate-style gold doubloons; each of the older boys received a cup with their name on it. Sometimes when I caught them being really good kids (obeying immediately, not whining when they may have normally whined, helping without being asked, etc.), I would put a dime or quarter in their cup, or even an IOU on a piece of paper (hey, they are 5 and 7, they don't know the difference between ten cents and ten dollars right now). When they were REALLY good, they earned a GOLD DOUBLOON; a gold doubloon is worth $5. I think each boy earned 4 doubloons over the 2 months leading up to the trip, and an additional 2 while on the trip. So that was their spending money, though we did help out with a couple of items.
Departure day coming up!!!