Nine Nights: Filling 2019 with Disney Adventures around the World *New TR Link 7/31

amazingact21

Upendi
Joined
Nov 6, 2010
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I shouldn’t be writing this pre-trip report.

Pre-trip reports are useless.

Nobody wants to read about planning for a Disney trip. They want the goods. They want to read about your three hour wait in the Flights of Passage queue. They want to see photos of you shoving your face full of Casey’s corn dog nuggets.

They want your memories of Disney.

Not your hopes and dreams and aspirations.

Those are boring.

Those don’t help fill the Disney void that’s constantly in your everyday life.

“Why would I want to read about what you want to do in Epcot. I’ve got my own list for that, Sharon.”

(Sorry, Sharon, I mean no offense by bashing your theoretical Epcot goals.)


Let’s face it, guys, pre-trip reports just aren’t as popular as actual trip reports. It’s okay to admit, we’ve all been guilty of having them. We’re all human, here. Occasionally, we put strawberry jelly rather than grape on our PB & J sandwiches. So if you’ll allow me this slip in trip reporting entertainment, I think I’ll get this thread up and running. Because the truth of the matter is a Disney trip is a huge endeavor.

I have been out of the game for a few years, and once I toed the waters (not Bay Lake’s, I stay far away from that darn one) I realized I was in way over my head. It turns out, planning for a Walt Disney World vacation is not like riding a bicycle.

I hopped back on that ten speed and promptly fell flat on my face.

What am I doing?!

I need some organization in my life.
These Dining reservations, those hotel dates, that packing list….they all need to be written down and summarized in a clean, accessible way.


“Did you say accessible?” Insert the DIS elbowing its way into the forefront of my mind. “I’m always available to help.”

“Except between 9 and 11 my time when you’re down for the night.”

“What can I say, a server’s gotta sleep. But never mind that. Think of me as your one stop shop for listing plans, keeping up with reservations, and creating opportunity for feedback. Doesn’t that sound appealing?”

“I don’t know, do you really think it’s worth writing about my plans?”

“Do you have a kid whose more Sheldon than Sheldon and needs specific routines?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Do you have another kid who will thwart as many Disney plans as possible by going against the grain?”

“Oh, yes, I definitely have one of those.”

“What about mistakes, anyone prone to that?”

“Well, I have forgotten to bring tickets that need to be activated with me. And I’ve locked my husband out of a hotel room with a sleeping infant before. Do those count?”

“Oh, honey. You NEED a pre-trip report.”

Huh. If you say so.


If that’s out of the way, then let’s begin, shall we?


Let me start off by saying hi. I’m Alicia:

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I’m married to this fellow:

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And together we have two children. Landon:

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And Evie:

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We’re a happy little family that spent the early years of our marriage in our hometown of Florida. It was there that we had 6 wonderful and action-packed years of Walt Disney World trips. In that short span of time, I partook in 12 trips to the parks with 1 Disney cruise and 2 runDisney 5K events. Those vacations stand out strong in my memories and had we stayed in Florida, Alex and I probably would have gone 12 more times between then and now.

However, my husband is in the military and in 2016 we moved halfway around the world to Germany. Living in such a vastly different place, Alex and I focused our time and effort away from the Disney parks and more on nearby cities and countries. Places that were once out of reach suddenly became attainable. We’ve eaten our way through Rome, driven around Ireland, and gazed at the Swiss Alps covered in snow.

Our Disney hiatus wasn’t perfect. I went back to Walt Disney World in 2017 when Alex was deployed, and we all spent a dream worthy night at the Polynesian after my sister in-law’s wedding brought us back stateside.

We have also made 3 trips to Disneyland Paris in France to catch sight of the dragon under their castle and to lay our heads in one of the closest Disney resorts to a park.

Life has been an adventure, and as appreciative as Alex and I have been for the opportunities, we have missed our Walt Disney World vacations.

It is past time we escape from reality for a few days and go live in the moment. The “moment” entailing dole whips and Big Thunder Mountain, monorail rides and projections on the castle. The moment where no dishes need be washed, no meeting be attended.

The moment where the only bus stops we are required to visit are those that take my kids to a grand castle at the end of a street. The appointments in our calendars will be to hug a member of the Fab Five or decide which we’d rather eat, Stuffed French Toast or Mickey Waffles. Where bedtimes are waived and afternoon naps take place poolside. Where the biggest fear will be a kid not hitting a minimum height requirement.


It’s time to return to Walt Disney World.


But wait…would could be better than one epic return to the world? What about following it with another trip to Disneyland Paris in the fall?

Surely, it can’t get better than that.

Oh, but it can.

How about a solo trip BACK to Walt Disney World in November?

This would be insanity.

Good thing we’re all mad here.

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Hang on to your hats, guys and gals, this here is gonna be the wildest ride in the wilderness. A ride encompassing three (THREE) trips to Disney property in 2019!!!




Up Next…We Have to Sleep Somewhere
 
Wow - I'm first! That never happens. I've read your TR's since your DS was just a little guy. Looking forward to hearing about your 2019 plans!
 
Woohoo I’m second!!:woohoo:
Ok in my head I’m singing “1st the worst, 2nd the best, 3rd’s the one with the hairy chest!”. :lmao:
Wonder who’s claiming the 3rd spot lol :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Sorry! Forgive my childish nature ( what can I say:confused3).
Really looking forward to hearing all about your trip planning. Love your writing style and your crazy wee family :goodvibes
 


Sounds like absolutely perfect plans!! Can't wait to hear all about it! :)
 


Wow - I'm first! That never happens. I've read your TR's since your DS was just a little guy. Looking forward to hearing about your 2019 plans!

Congrats on being first! I appreciate you following my crazy family through Disney all these years; we've certainly had some interesting adventures.:laughing:



Woohoo I’m second!!:woohoo:
Ok in my head I’m singing “1st the worst, 2nd the best, 3rd’s the one with the hairy chest!”. :lmao:
Wonder who’s claiming the 3rd spot lol :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Sorry! Forgive my childish nature ( what can I say:confused3).
Really looking forward to hearing all about your trip planning. Love your writing style and your crazy wee family :goodvibes

:rotfl2: Oh, thanks for the giggle this morning. With a 5 year old in the house, that kind of humor is what fills our lives. :laughing:
Thank you for hopping over here to follow along; I've become spoiled with the ease of planning for Disneyland Paris and have forgotten how much is involved with a Walt Disney World trip.



Looking forward to following along!

Thanks for joining, Meghan.:goodvibes I know you're super swamped this semester!
 
Sounds like absolutely perfect plans!! Can't wait to hear all about it! :)

Welcome! Thank you for following along. I'm hoping this pre-trip report will be a great place to sort through all the possibilities that are available at Walt Disney World.


Great intro! I'm here and following along!

Thanks for joining me over here.:goodvibes


Following! (Loved your intro, you're a great writer!)

Thank you so much. Writing is my stress reliever and an easy way to break away from the day's madness.


Can't wait to hear more about your planning process!

Thanks for hopping on board. I'm disappointed I'll be missing you in Disney for your annual girl's trip by mere weeks!:sad2:
 
Following along! I totally understand needing a PTR just to organize your plans! I haven't written up a new one for future trips, but think I need to!
 
Following along! I totally understand needing a PTR just to organize your plans! I haven't written up a new one for future trips, but think I need to!

I remember a few years ago wondering why I bothered with pre-trip reports. Then I started planning this upcoming trip and it all came back to me. :rotfl: I've gotten so spoiled traveling around Europe, where once I booked my accommodations and tickets to major attractions, I was done. I'm out of practice!:laughing:
 
Dates Would Be Nice. Perhaps a Hotel, Too.


Whenever I pull up my plans for this summer, all the information starts to swim before my eyes and numbers begin jumbling together in my head. Disney planning has gotten a lot more complicated than when I was doing it with two babies, so I have to take things step by step.

Starting with the days and resorts seems like the best starting point. Let’s start there.::yes::


My family is moving homes this summer from Germany to England, so this entire vacation had to center around when we would be finished at one place and before we had to arrive at the next spot. Conveniently, this falls in the summertime, and since the kids will be out of school we can take our sweet time heading back to the states for a long visit.

The plan is to ship all our belongings to our next location, fly back to Florida, and spend a month hopping between families and enjoying the Disney parks, before flying back to Europe and getting on with our everyday adventures.



The party will begin at my parent’s house in the Gulf Coast of Florida. Nana is a common face on my trip reports; she’s been to Disney 6 times with me in my adult life and loves the parks as much as the next DISer.

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My family will spend a week or so at their house, and then Alex and I will set off on a new adventure.


Get ready for this, friends.

(It’s hard to believe.)

Alex has a sister who is having her first baby this spring. Naturally, we want to meet this newest member of the family while we’re stateside.

Small problem, though.

She lives in Minnesota.

:scratchin


Kind of complicates matters. I am adventurous. I’ve flown international with the kids on two different occasions, as well as lived in a foreign country on my own for 6 months. There’s not a lot that intimidates me. But dragging the kids on an international flight, all over the state of Florida, and up to Minnesota???

That’s where I draw the line.

Rather than schlep the tikes to Timbuktu and back, Alex and I are leaving them in the capable hands of my parents. This will be the very first time I have EVER left the kids for longer than 2 days before.

For me, this is a big deal.

And Alex didn’t want to have this amazing opportunity go to waste by simply flying straight to Minnesota and back. No, instead, he did a little digging and learned that it would save us a ton of money to fly to MN from Orlando.

We just had to get our butts down to that area.

*Picture Alex punching some numbers and making some calls.*

Faster than I could say
PARENTS GETAWAY, Alex had reserved us a rental car, dates for flights, and two nights at Disney beforehand.


Excuse me, did you just say two nights at Disney?

By golly, I did.

!!!

Alex’s logic stood as this: If we have to drive down to Orlando to fly to Minnesota, then we might as well add one extra day and spend it in the parks.

This part of the trip will look like:

Day 1 Kid Free Extravaganza: Drive the 6-7 hours to Disney.

Day 2: A Disney Park Day!

Day 3: Fly to Minnesota

Days 4-5: Cuddle and gaze at the newborn baby

Day 6: Fly back to Orlando



On the day Alex and I are flying back, my mom has graciously agreed to drive down to Orlando to bring the kids to us. She will then stick around as we begin the second part of our Disney celebration.

After Minnesota, my family will spend 9 nights at Walt Disney World.

NINE. NIGHTS.

:eek:

(For all my Brooklyn Nine Nine fans, this is where the title of my report stems from. Every time Alex and I talk about our trip, we say it like the show’s chant.)


My mom and any other fellow family members who care to tag along will join us during the first 5 nights, and then the remaining 4 nights will be Alex, Landon, Evie, and myself. This is to give anyone and everyone a chance to visit and enjoy the parks with us, while also allowing our core family some time to spend together. We’re afraid all the stimulation of people, traveling, constant displacement will start to take a toll on everybody, so Alex and I thought it important to slow things down for a few days and give the kids a break.


Our Florida trip will conclude with several days at Alex’s mother’s house, a long drive back to my parent’s place, and then the never-ending flight back to Europe.:faint:


Talk about a trip! This is without a doubt the grandest and most daunting Disney trip we have ever tried before. Alex and I are getting a total of 11 nights at Walt Disney World, and the kids are getting 9. Is that too much Disney? I’m afraid it might be, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take. How many other times will we be able to say we spent a week and a half straight on property? Opportunities like this don’t come around very often, so when they do you have to grab them and hang on tight.


Now...I told you the number of days, let me indulge where we’re staying.


For our nine nights, Alex and I didn’t think too hard on where to lay our heads.


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Shades of Green is our tried and true resort for any Disney trip. The nightly rate is affordable, it’s close to the Magic Kingdom, and the rooms are extremely large. With two queen size beds, a pull out sofa bed, and a sitting area with table and chairs, it was the most logical choice for the amount of time we will be staying. Shades has its issues, I’m never over the moon with the place, but it was either stay somewhere else for half the time or deal with Shades’ problems and get a longer trip.

Easy decision.


Especially when I factored in the two nights with Alex.

For an occasion as momentous as this one, we knew we had to go big. No Pop Century or AirBnB for something as wild as a kid’s free trip. We needed to mark the celebration with the perfect Disney resort.

The Polynesian was our first choice, because we both love it there. But we realized we probably wouldn’t be at the resort long enough to fully appreciate its value. Which meant we needed somewhere nice, but not so nice that we wouldn’t want to leave and spend the whole day in the parks.

Someplace we already knew seemed to make the most sense. The two of us wouldn’t need to learn the layout or look around as long, and we would be able to navigate the area from memory.

Well, with that kind of parameter we were left with one choice.

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Animal Kingdom Lodge!!


Yes, indeed, for our 2 night Adults Only Trip Alex and I will be staying at the glorious Jambo House. The resort has everything we could dream of: a secluded setting, exotic animals, and Zebra domes at the ready.

Alex and I are more than ready to stay at this resort again. What a way to prelude nine nights at the familiar Shades of Green. It all sounds so extravagant and indulgent. A part of me doesn’t believe it’ll pan out. We’re the 3 and 4 night Disney folks. Not the stay and leisure around folks.

It seems too good to be true.



Whenever I am able to come to my senses and think of the trip in a real way, I become massively lost. Planning and organizing a trip of the scale is proving very difficult to keep up with, and that’s where this Pre-Trip Report is coming into play. As you can see, I’ve got a lot going on, and I’m hoping future updates can flesh out my plans and give me a sense of purpose with this vacation. Hopefully, I can figure out a way to cover everyone’s wish lists, experience all the news additions that have popped up during our absence, and still manage to use the vacation time for relaxing and rejuvenating before moving to a new country.

Wish me luck!
 
Wow - this is quite an undertaking! It sounds like the perfect combo of family time and kid-less time. 9 nights should allow you to go at a slower pace and still get everything in. So nice you have the option of Shades of Green. Disney hotel prices have gone a little crazy the last few years. I'm hoping for a short Disney trip this year with just my DH. I thought if it was a short stay we could splurge on one of the deluxes but - oh my. We'll probably end up at a moderate. Just not sure I can pulled the trigger on a deluxe. But maybe a great code or percent off will come along. Looking forward to seeing how you work your way thru the planning - going to WDW isn't for wimps!
 
The plan is to ship all our belongings to our next location, fly back to Florida, and spend a month hopping between families and enjoying the Disney parks, before flying back to Europe and getting on with our everyday adventures.

Wow! This sounds like the most wonderful way to spend the time between Germany and England. I'm so pleased for you!

Rather than schlep the tikes to Timbuktu and back, Alex and I are leaving them in the capable hands of my parents. This will be the very first time I have EVER left the kids for longer than 2 days before.

For me, this is a big deal.

Definitely a big deal! But good for you both! It'll be wonderful to have some time together, and let the kids have some special time with their grandparents as well.

After Minnesota, my family will spend 9 nights at Walt Disney World.

NINE. NIGHTS.

:eek:

Oh my goodness! Yay!

This is to give anyone and everyone a chance to visit and enjoy the parks with us, while also allowing our core family some time to spend together

That's an excellent plan. Balance is key!

Alex and I are getting a total of 11 nights at Walt Disney World, and the kids are getting 9. Is that too much Disney? I’m afraid it might be, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.

Nope! I don't think so! That said, we like to take long trips when we can make it happen (when finances and timing don't get in the way.) It may be really lovely with the kids to have time to relax, swim, rest, and still get loads of park time.

Animal Kingdom Lodge!!


Yes, indeed, for our 2 night Adults Only Trip Alex and I will be staying at the glorious Jambo House. The resort has everything we could dream of: a secluded setting, exotic animals, and Zebra domes at the ready.

Wow! That's wonderful! An excellent choice. I'm sure you'll have a blast!
 
This sounds like a lot of fun to me. I am always trying to get DH to go longer then 7 days. DH tries to get me to go like 3 or 4 days. We then settle on 7.
 
Talk about a trip! This is without a doubt the grandest and most daunting Disney trip we have ever tried before. Alex and I are getting a total of 11 nights at Walt Disney World, and the kids are getting 9. Is that too much Disney? I’m afraid it might be, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take. How many other times will we be able to say we spent a week and a half straight on property? Opportunities like this don’t come around very often, so when they do you have to grab them and hang on tight.

I am so excited for you and believe me 9 (or even 11) nights is definitely NOT too much disney!:thumbsup2

Yes, indeed, for our 2 night Adults Only Trip Alex and I will be staying at the glorious Jambo House. The resort has everything we could dream of: a secluded setting, exotic animals, and Zebra domes at the ready.

Sounds just perfect! I know how you love AK and now you'll be right there!:goodvibes

Hopefully, I can figure out a way to cover everyone’s wish lists,

This is the beauty of all those nights! All 9 NIGHTS!!:banana:

Wish me luck!

GOOD LUCK :shamrock: and bucket loads of Pixie Dustpixiedust:pixiedust:pixiedust:
 
My family is moving homes this summer from Germany to England, so this entire vacation had to center around when we would be finished at one place and before we had to arrive at the next spot.
Wow! That is an exciting move! I just love England. :)

Rather than schlep the tikes to Timbuktu and back, Alex and I are leaving them in the capable hands of my parents. This will be the very first time I have EVER left the kids for longer than 2 days before.
It is a pretty big deal to leave your littles, even with people who you know love them more than anything.

Faster than I could say PARENTS GETAWAY, Alex had reserved us a rental car, dates for flights, and two nights at Disney beforehand.


Excuse me, did you just say two nights at Disney?

By golly, I did.
Awesome!!!!!!!!!

NINE. NIGHTS.
Best. Trip. Ever. There is officially no such thing as too much Disney!

Yes, indeed, for our 2 night Adults Only Trip Alex and I will be staying at the glorious Jambo House. The resort has everything we could dream of: a secluded setting, exotic animals, and Zebra domes at the ready.
Love AKL.....such a great resort!
 

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