This will be my first trip report so I am going to start with a PR that has some background.
Dh & I have been together for 15.5 yrs but married for 6 this april. We met at an adoption support group while we both had been separated from our first spouses for 18 months. I was a search assistant and offered help in finding his birth dad in Canada since I had collected canadian search tools(prior to internet being the norm in everyones home). He thought that I was coming onto him and asked me to dinner to discuss his search. Reason Im telling you is because I love how we met and when I give details on our family you will see me say birth mom or dad or half sibs-this comes from us both finding our birth families and having relationships with them for nearly 20 yrs now.
Together we have two daughters, dd12 and dd9. Held off getting married until the girls were able to participate- and I had a lovely wedding at the Disney Swan hotel. We have a golden retriever (18months) and a nasty cat (almost 8) who I adore but everyone else cant stand.
We moved to Tampa 5 yrs ago and have visited Disney many times. I love being only 75mins from the World. Several years ago Dh said he was disneyed out and we stopped going to the parks. Weve done a few cruises since- including taking advantage of the free kids offer on the Disney Wonder last year. But Ive secretly been plotting to go back-I need my fix! Originally we planned to go on a week long RCCL cruise this year but with the economy being so tight , pay cuts and no bonuses made me look towards a more economical trip.
This trip- our school district is taking political correctness to an extreme- avoiding all religious holidays for vacation time. So we are the only district around the Tampa Bay area taking the week of 4/11 off instead of before or after easter. Which means my mom who works another district cant babysit for free. DH & I both took that week off and I started putting my plan into motion.
I signed the family up on the Give a Day promotion to make 40 cat blankets for a rescue group. Handed those in last week and am now in possession of our vouchers. We will exchange the one day passes for the Florida 4 Day dream pass and have a day in each park for a total of about $170! Started pricing the current discounts for CSR as that would have been my preferred resort ( Dh is nearly 63 and the queen beds would make him more comfortable.) Pricing was in the range of $140 a nite- Ive never paid more than $110 for a mod so this was too high for me. I looked around for another option and came across the We lovvvve Bonnet Creek thread and it works perfectly. We can have breakfast and pack snacks, drinks & sandwiches to the parks. We booked a 2 bedroom deluxe for 4 nites (may try to add on a day or get a room via priceline) for $100 a nite. This is great as we are guilty of being couch potatoes and frankly Disney TV for more than a nite leaves us wanting. Plus, having a Jacuzzi tub, king bed in the master and 3 tvs will be a perfect setup for us.
Ive saved up a $50 Chilis gift card, $25 off $35 House of Blues Gift cert from restaurant.com and am planning a $400 total out of pocket budget. The girls are familiar with our no gimme policy when it comes to souvenirs. They will have an opp to get one souvenir for the week at Downtown Disney the last day. They each have their own way of choosing something- dd12 is more interested in spending every dime of her budget and will generally find a way to spend the money and get more than one item- or bargain to put the rest of the budget towards a non Disney purchase she has in mind (Im figuring shell try to get $20 to put towards a Vera Bradley back pack shes been saving for)
My dd9 will check out every item in every gift shop that Disney so thoughtfully placed at the exit of each major attractions. But, I am betting that she will spend her $ at the Lego land store. I dont have any tour plans as of yet but I will work on that and add it to this PR as I complete them. Dh started us on tour plans when we first went to Disney but I took over when I planned our wedding in 2004 and found the Disboards.
Dh & I went to WDW in 1995 for the first time together. He had been to WDW numerous times during childhood when his family took their FL road trips from NY. I had only been once and this was my first time back since I was 7. We couldnt get a value or mod onsite so we rented a car and stayed offsite in an older hotel but this was our first real vacation together so I was more than excited. DH is very much into research, planning and organizing when it comes to trips like this. So we bought the Unofficial Guide to Disney, plotted our tour plans and read, reread and devoured the Guide. Nothing could prepare me for this trip and the way I would feel as if I was in a fantasy when we got to Disney. This was when I truly fell in love with both Disney and DH.
We spent as much time touring each resort as we did the parks. Walking into each resort was like visiting a new state and we loved exploring and planning what we would do when we could stay at each. Our favorite was the Poly and it is still our dream to stay there at some point.
We discovered that at this time the Swan/Dolphin hotels had free self parking because they were convention resorts. We fully exploited this wonderful find and parked for free each day and utilized the boats and buses. I remember how smug we felt and that we quietly kept this secret to ourselves- but Disney would discover this lovely loophole and start charging for parking several years ago.
I cant explain why I fell in love so completely with either Disney or Dh at that time. With Dh I think it was the fact that I could go onto a ride like Tower of Terror and not fear that he would push me out, bribe the CM to hold us hostage at the top of the ride or exploit my major fear of heights like my ex did. Of course, I absolutely hated the TOT drop and have never gone on it again but if I did I could trust dh and that was a major step for me.
We were at WDW for only 6 days 5 nites but every minute seemed to bring some new discovery and wonder. I am definitely considered a control freak, but this one week I was able to follow dhs lead with his tour plans and previous knowledge.I was able to be a young girl in love, holding hands with a wonderful boyfriend who was sharing old and new places with me and it all seemed a dream. I loved the landscaping, the shows and the fantasy. I was a child and an adult all at the same time and I dont think I have ever been able to recapture that same feeling anywhere else. I know that when I first walk onto Main Street each and every time there is that young girl coming home to her dream again.
We visited each park at least once and pretty much did counter service food at the parks. For sit down, I had a coupon for buy one get one free entrée at the Outback Restaurant(its in a Downtown Disney hotel), spent an hour and a half waiting online to get into the brand new Planet Hollywood and we did reserve the luau show one night too. I remember that I actually got up and tried to hula- and that was without any drinks!
We had a blast at Pleasure Island- loved the Adventurers club, the comedy show and just doing shots down the ice slide. Dh isnt much of a dancer so wasnt into the niteclubs, but the whole night felt like one long party just for us.
There were two memories that stand apart for me- one was the first time I saw Illuminations wrapped in Dhs arms. I loved the theming of the show and while it was romantic and dazzling I loved the message of world peace it shared. The other moment was the last full day we were there and we were walking around the Beach & Yacht club. We saw a bride and groom in Cinderellas Carriage in the distance. I remember thinking what a dream come true that must be for the bride- marrying prince charming in a flowing ball gown and riding thru a fantasy world in a fairy tale carriage. I think it was some kind of premonition that we would return to Disney for our own unique wedding. But mostly, Disney taught me to dream again after a horrible first marriage and DH became the center of those fairy tale dreams for me.
Dh & I have been together for 15.5 yrs but married for 6 this april. We met at an adoption support group while we both had been separated from our first spouses for 18 months. I was a search assistant and offered help in finding his birth dad in Canada since I had collected canadian search tools(prior to internet being the norm in everyones home). He thought that I was coming onto him and asked me to dinner to discuss his search. Reason Im telling you is because I love how we met and when I give details on our family you will see me say birth mom or dad or half sibs-this comes from us both finding our birth families and having relationships with them for nearly 20 yrs now.
Together we have two daughters, dd12 and dd9. Held off getting married until the girls were able to participate- and I had a lovely wedding at the Disney Swan hotel. We have a golden retriever (18months) and a nasty cat (almost 8) who I adore but everyone else cant stand.
We moved to Tampa 5 yrs ago and have visited Disney many times. I love being only 75mins from the World. Several years ago Dh said he was disneyed out and we stopped going to the parks. Weve done a few cruises since- including taking advantage of the free kids offer on the Disney Wonder last year. But Ive secretly been plotting to go back-I need my fix! Originally we planned to go on a week long RCCL cruise this year but with the economy being so tight , pay cuts and no bonuses made me look towards a more economical trip.
This trip- our school district is taking political correctness to an extreme- avoiding all religious holidays for vacation time. So we are the only district around the Tampa Bay area taking the week of 4/11 off instead of before or after easter. Which means my mom who works another district cant babysit for free. DH & I both took that week off and I started putting my plan into motion.
I signed the family up on the Give a Day promotion to make 40 cat blankets for a rescue group. Handed those in last week and am now in possession of our vouchers. We will exchange the one day passes for the Florida 4 Day dream pass and have a day in each park for a total of about $170! Started pricing the current discounts for CSR as that would have been my preferred resort ( Dh is nearly 63 and the queen beds would make him more comfortable.) Pricing was in the range of $140 a nite- Ive never paid more than $110 for a mod so this was too high for me. I looked around for another option and came across the We lovvvve Bonnet Creek thread and it works perfectly. We can have breakfast and pack snacks, drinks & sandwiches to the parks. We booked a 2 bedroom deluxe for 4 nites (may try to add on a day or get a room via priceline) for $100 a nite. This is great as we are guilty of being couch potatoes and frankly Disney TV for more than a nite leaves us wanting. Plus, having a Jacuzzi tub, king bed in the master and 3 tvs will be a perfect setup for us.
Ive saved up a $50 Chilis gift card, $25 off $35 House of Blues Gift cert from restaurant.com and am planning a $400 total out of pocket budget. The girls are familiar with our no gimme policy when it comes to souvenirs. They will have an opp to get one souvenir for the week at Downtown Disney the last day. They each have their own way of choosing something- dd12 is more interested in spending every dime of her budget and will generally find a way to spend the money and get more than one item- or bargain to put the rest of the budget towards a non Disney purchase she has in mind (Im figuring shell try to get $20 to put towards a Vera Bradley back pack shes been saving for)
My dd9 will check out every item in every gift shop that Disney so thoughtfully placed at the exit of each major attractions. But, I am betting that she will spend her $ at the Lego land store. I dont have any tour plans as of yet but I will work on that and add it to this PR as I complete them. Dh started us on tour plans when we first went to Disney but I took over when I planned our wedding in 2004 and found the Disboards.
Dh & I went to WDW in 1995 for the first time together. He had been to WDW numerous times during childhood when his family took their FL road trips from NY. I had only been once and this was my first time back since I was 7. We couldnt get a value or mod onsite so we rented a car and stayed offsite in an older hotel but this was our first real vacation together so I was more than excited. DH is very much into research, planning and organizing when it comes to trips like this. So we bought the Unofficial Guide to Disney, plotted our tour plans and read, reread and devoured the Guide. Nothing could prepare me for this trip and the way I would feel as if I was in a fantasy when we got to Disney. This was when I truly fell in love with both Disney and DH.
We spent as much time touring each resort as we did the parks. Walking into each resort was like visiting a new state and we loved exploring and planning what we would do when we could stay at each. Our favorite was the Poly and it is still our dream to stay there at some point.
We discovered that at this time the Swan/Dolphin hotels had free self parking because they were convention resorts. We fully exploited this wonderful find and parked for free each day and utilized the boats and buses. I remember how smug we felt and that we quietly kept this secret to ourselves- but Disney would discover this lovely loophole and start charging for parking several years ago.
I cant explain why I fell in love so completely with either Disney or Dh at that time. With Dh I think it was the fact that I could go onto a ride like Tower of Terror and not fear that he would push me out, bribe the CM to hold us hostage at the top of the ride or exploit my major fear of heights like my ex did. Of course, I absolutely hated the TOT drop and have never gone on it again but if I did I could trust dh and that was a major step for me.
We were at WDW for only 6 days 5 nites but every minute seemed to bring some new discovery and wonder. I am definitely considered a control freak, but this one week I was able to follow dhs lead with his tour plans and previous knowledge.I was able to be a young girl in love, holding hands with a wonderful boyfriend who was sharing old and new places with me and it all seemed a dream. I loved the landscaping, the shows and the fantasy. I was a child and an adult all at the same time and I dont think I have ever been able to recapture that same feeling anywhere else. I know that when I first walk onto Main Street each and every time there is that young girl coming home to her dream again.
We visited each park at least once and pretty much did counter service food at the parks. For sit down, I had a coupon for buy one get one free entrée at the Outback Restaurant(its in a Downtown Disney hotel), spent an hour and a half waiting online to get into the brand new Planet Hollywood and we did reserve the luau show one night too. I remember that I actually got up and tried to hula- and that was without any drinks!
We had a blast at Pleasure Island- loved the Adventurers club, the comedy show and just doing shots down the ice slide. Dh isnt much of a dancer so wasnt into the niteclubs, but the whole night felt like one long party just for us.
There were two memories that stand apart for me- one was the first time I saw Illuminations wrapped in Dhs arms. I loved the theming of the show and while it was romantic and dazzling I loved the message of world peace it shared. The other moment was the last full day we were there and we were walking around the Beach & Yacht club. We saw a bride and groom in Cinderellas Carriage in the distance. I remember thinking what a dream come true that must be for the bride- marrying prince charming in a flowing ball gown and riding thru a fantasy world in a fairy tale carriage. I think it was some kind of premonition that we would return to Disney for our own unique wedding. But mostly, Disney taught me to dream again after a horrible first marriage and DH became the center of those fairy tale dreams for me.
