We rode Rise of the Resistance on Walt's Birthday on our first Mother/Daughter Trip! December 2019! Updated September 19th!

buzzrelly

DIS Veteran
Joined
Nov 20, 2005
Hello friends, old and new! Welcome to my latest trip report…the one I wasn't going to write since I thought I would be busy writing our March 2020 trip report right about now and having just finished my Fantasy trip report from last April.

But alas, our March trip didn't happen, nor will our July trip that we had been planning for a year so now I find myself with nothing to write about and don't we all just love writing about our trips and reading about other's trips??
I know I do and it really helps to pass the time until our next trip, hopefully happening in October.

So who are the Mother and Daughter that you clicked on this thread to see?

501172

My name is Kelly and my travel partner
was my 16 year-old daughter, Allison, or Allie for short.

I've been around here for a while…2006 to be exact.
I found these boards when I was planning our first "real trip," which happened in May 2006.
Just for fun, I may include some of those throwback pics in here
because I love seeing people's old pics in their reports
and since I didn't actually write my first trip report until 2015,
I think it will be fun to walk down memory lane!
And since I'm breaking trip report rules anyway,
I will probably also be posting plans for our future trips here as well!

So this trip report will be kind of a mish-mash of trips past, present and future…continue reading at your own risk!

For those who don't know me, like many of you, I am a crazed, Disney fan.
My first trip was actually in 1989 with a group of friends.
We drove up from my friend's parents vacation house in Venice, FL
and stayed somewhere cheap nearby but I have no idea where.
We visited the MK one day and MGM Studios the next.
I believe we went over Memorial Day weekend and MGM had just opened that month.
It was an absolutely miserable experience, but I remember still loving it!
My friends…not so much.
It was hot and crowded and I remember my friend sitting on the step
in front of the Chinese Theaterand waiting two or three hours
for The Great Movie Ride and just being absolutely miserable.
Fun times! :rotfl2:
501184

501186

501191
(Gotta love the color-blocked shorts of the 80s!)


I have been a NICU Nurse for 18 years and work lots of extra hours taking care of
tiny babies to help pay for these trips.
We are also DVC members and have points at both BLT and The Poly, though we never seem to have enough points and end up booking some of our trips at value or moderate resorts

I also have an older son, Nicholas, who couldn't join us
because he is in college at a local university
and early December was a busy time for him finishing up his first semester and his finals.

I am married to Mike who won't fly,
so him joining for such a short trip was out of the question.
He has come around to the idea of WDW and actually likes planning some of it…
well, maybe just what we're going to eat, but it's a start!
He doesn't love thrill rides…and in his eyes, Seven Dwarves Mine Train is a thrill ride!
When we travel together, it's more of a relaxing trip…
nothing like this whirlwind trip Allie and I had!

Allie just finished her Junior Year of High School.
Technically I believe after the seniors graduate tomorrow, she herself will be a senior o_O
She loves Disney almost as much as I do
and she is really starting to get into the planning of our trips.
She has high hopes of getting into the DCP someday.
She is a very sweet girl and very easy to travel with.
I can see us becoming travel partners someday, like @disneyAndi14 and her daughter,
especially since Mike won't fly and I really want to go places eventually
that you really can't drive to, ie Europe and Hawaii.

Speaking of Hawaii, Allie and I are planning her senior trip for next summer
and are planning on doing a Disneyland/Hollywood/Aulani trip!
We are both really excited about that
and I will definitely be sharing more of those plans here,
as well as soliciting advice from any of you on planning this kind of trip!
My dream for years has been to visit Disneyland.
I literally read books about DL history all the time and
I think I am most excited about that part of the trip.
Allie is indulging me by visiting DL
because she went some years back with her dad and was underwhelmed.
But I think she and I will love it together!
Hollywood is her idea so I'm indulging her with that part.
And as far as Hawaii, I am hoping to use our DVC points and stay at Aulani.
More to come on this at a later date!


Back to the present trip, December 4th-7th, and how it all came about:


I had been planning a quick trip to Orlando for business
from December 1st-4th and, of course,
I couldn't travel to Orlando and NOT got to WDW,
so I planned to add on a couple days for a solo trip.
But then Allie mentioned wanting to go which kind of surprised me
because she hates to miss school and was why I hadn't asked her to begin with.
So literally a week and a half before the trip, I added her in to most of my fast-passes
and actually ended up adding another night at the end since I wouldn't be by myself.

Because this was kind of a last minute trip and I was adding on a day,
I was going back and forth on resort options and finally settled on
All-Star Movies for really cheap.

Even though it was a short trip, we crammed in all four parks, plus Disney Springs!
It was exhausting but so much fun!

Some of the highlights include:

Riding Rise of the Resistance on opening day!!

Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party

Tony's Most Merriest Town Square Party, during the Christmas Party

Visiting all of the monorail resorts to see their Christmas decorations

And so much more!

As usual, I took a million pictures and will be sharing them here!

I'd love to have y'all join in for some of our Christmas fun and for some future trip planning!











 
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Before I get too far along, and I apologize to the people who have already commented,
I wanted to lay out our rough plans for our upcoming trips.


First up is October 6th-12th, 2020.

My mom, Allie, and I were planning to bring my great-niece for her first trip ever. I've had POFQ booked since last year and had all kinds of fun, girly, princess-y things planned like breakfast at both CRT and Akershus, BBB, plus character dining including Chef Mickey's, Tusker House, and Garden Grill. Of course, all of those dining reservations were erased recently by Disney and likely won't be a possibility for this October trip, even if I was able to get them booked again.

Also, at some point I am going to have to modify our stay at POFQ since when we cancelled our July trip, I found we had 114 points from 2018 that need to be used by November 30, 2020. Of course, by the time I cancelled, many of the DVC resorts were already booked, but I was able to book a 1-bedroom at CCV for our first three nights and then one night at Riviera in a preferred studio. I was actually going to call and maybe try to book the same kind of studio with cash for our last two nights if it was available so we wouldn't have to bounce around as much, but as you all know, there is no modifying any reservations at the moment so I'll just have to sit tight and see what happens after they re-open.

Another concern for this trip is if my mom will even be able to travel with us at that time, if things aren't better. She's been pretty good about social distancing and has only recently started coming to my house where we hang out in the back yard. We'll have to wait and see how things re by then, or by August I guess. She also doesn't have tickets yet, and who knows if they'll start selling them again by then??

My last concern is that since this is supposed to be an amazing first trip for my niece, I really think the cutbacks to experiences and dining will really hamper her trip…not that she knows any better, but we do.

If my mom and niece don't come, and Allie and I feel comfortable enough to travel, we will just go anyway so as not to lose our points. Plus, part of this trip was to celebrate Allie's birthday on October 7th and as long as she can eat at Via Napoli on her birthday, she'll be a happy girl.


Moving on to our next trip April 11th-18, 2021

We used our points for a 2-bedroom at Bay Lake Tower :cool1: So even if my mom and niece don't make it down with us in October, they are coming on the April trip, as well as me, Allie, Mike, and his son, Kaleb, who will be almost 15 at the time. In all the years we've been together, 2021 will be the first time our kids spring breaks match up since he lives in a different town. Plus, Mike really wanted to see the Flower and Garden festival which was why we had this past March booked anyway, so it's a great time for us to go! Nicholas may or may not join us for part of the trip, depending on his school schedule. His break is the month before and he'll have to see how busy he is and if he can sneak away for a few days maybe.


Next will be Allie's Graduation Trip July 13th-25th, 2021

I talked a little about this but we plan are planning on 4 nights in Disneyland, 2 nights in Hollywood and maybe 6 at Aulani…hopefully…depending on what we can get.


And then of course, we plan to be there for the 50th…possibly September 30th-October 7th?? I'm hoping that since so many of us will want to be here for this, we can have another EPIC trip like we did last May!

And finally, I would also love to be there for my birthday next year so Mike and I will hopefully go sometime in early December 2021. He's also never been for Christmas and I think he would love it!

Yikes…I never write this much, I'm so sorry for the lack of pictures in this post! Obviously, a lot can change with any of these trips depending on the state of the world, but I'm choosing to remain optimistic that things will resume some sort of normalcy soon!
 
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Love this already! I am going with my oldest son again next month (he will be 7 in September). We've done several trips alone and actually get more done that way. My husband would prefer to stay in the room if he comes or he is the one watching my youngest son since he is not tall enough for much right now. We were supposed to be on a cruise next month for our anniversary and that obviously got cancelled so we rented DVC points (hopefully we can get into the parks with our annual passes) and trying out BWV for the first time in a studio then switching over to Kidani in a 2 bedroom as my sister and her family will be flying in for the weekend for her first Disney trip. Can't wait to give her the Disney bug and her husband also plans on staying in the room or golfing.
 


Can't wait to read about your trip with Allie! And also about your DLR/Aulani plans! That's a trip that Nathan and I definitely want to take as well!
 
I am going with my oldest son again next month (he will be 7 in September). We've done several trips alone and actually get more done that way.

Thanks for joining! It's amazing how easy it is with just two people!


my sister and her family will be flying in for the weekend for her first Disney trip. Can't wait to give her the Disney bug

Sounds like such a fun trip!


Can't wait to read about your trip with Allie! And also about your DLR/Aulani plans! That's a trip that Nathan and I definitely want to take as well!

Hi Meghan! Thanks for reading! DLR/Aulani just seems like the perfect trip! Maybe we'll bump into each other there next July!

Also, I'm sorry @Rxdr2013 and @MeghanEmily , I kind of messed up and just posted all of our pre-trip plans in the reserved spot up above! I didn't think that through clearly! :rotfl:
 
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I'm in! I loved reading about all your future trip plans because it seems so normal to be planning future Disney trips!

I had all our vacation plans laid out for the next few years and well, covid came along and now I'm growing a human so suddenly all our plans are back up in the air!
 


I find myself with nothing to write about and don't we all just love writing about our trips and reading about other's trips?
yes definitely! ::yes::
Just for fun, I may include some of those throwback pics in here
I love those, so fun to look at
She is a very sweet girl and very easy to travel with.
I can see us becoming travel partners someday, like @disneyAndi14 and her daughter,
especially since Mike won't fly and I really want to go places eventually
that you really can't drive to, ie Europe and Hawaii.
This is the same for us, easy to travel with and loves to travel, Joe not so much. I’m so glad Andi loves it otherwise I would be traveling along most of the time. My husband isn’t afraid of flying but he is more of a hunting, dog training type of guy. Loves to spend his vacation on those activities! :sad2:
Of course, all of those dining reservations were erased recently by Disney and likely won't be a possibility for this October trip, even if I was able to get them booked again.
Same our August reservations all gone. The uncertainty is the worst!
Riding Rise of the Resistance on opening day!!
Yay! I’m excited to hear your review!
I'm hoping that since so many of us will want to be here for this, we can have another EPIC trip like we did last May!
This would be so fun, I’m in!!
Looking forward to your report and throwback pictures!
 
Hello friends, old and new!
:wave: Hi, Kelly!
don't we all just love writing about our trips and reading about other's trips??
::yes::
So this trip report will be kind of a mish-mash of trips past, present and future…continue reading at your own risk!
Bring it on. I live for risk. And a comfy bed. And good food. Okay, maybe not so much risk.
We drove up from my friend's parents vacation house in Venice, FL
and stayed somewhere cheap nearby but I have no idea where.
I'm betting Kissimmee.
I believe we went over Memorial Day weekend and MGM had just opened that month.
It was an absolutely miserable experience, but I remember still loving it!
My friends…not so much.
Oh dear...
I remember my friend sitting on the step
in front of the Chinese Theaterand waiting two or three hours
for The Great Movie Ride
Yikes!
But then again... you can wait as long as you want, you ain't gonna ride it now!
I really want to go places eventually
that you really can't drive to, ie Europe and Hawaii
Sure you can. It's just a little... wet.
Speaking of Hawaii, Allie and I are planning her senior trip for next summer
and are planning on doing a Disneyland/Hollywood/Aulani trip!
Wow! That sounds amazing!
of course,
I couldn't travel to Orlando and NOT got to WDW,
::yes::
Even though it was a short trip, we crammed in all four parks, plus Disney Springs!
It was exhausting but so much fun!
:goodvibes
Riding Rise of the Resistance on opening day!!
:eek: Holy cow! That must've been crazy!
Of course, all of those dining reservations were erased recently by Disney and likely won't be a possibility for this October trip, even if I was able to get them booked again.
:sad2:
there is no modifying any reservations at the moment
I didn't know that.
as long as she can eat at Via Napoli on her birthday, she'll be a happy girl.
:laughing: Well, then you gotta do that.
I'm hoping that since so many of us will want to be here for this, we can have another EPIC trip like we did last May!
:) That'd be nice. I read so many TRs around that.
 
Woohoo!!!! Thanks for starting this and keeping more Disney magic in my life. Can't wait to see what you and Allie were up to in December and hear more about your upcoming trips. How great to have a travel partner that will get on a plane for you ✈ I hope Casey still loves Disney (and me) when she is Allie's age but I'm pretty sure there is no way Jason would stand for a girls trip :D

Random aside, did I ever tell you our dog growing up was named Allie? We were struggling to name her and my brother saw something in the paper and suggested it. Turns out it was for a movie named "Allie in Wonderland." So a Disney connection. Also he told us later it was an ad for a movie at the "adult" movie theater 😱
 
Popping over from your last trip report. Looking forward to reading more about your adventures and your upcoming plans
 
Joining in! I'm already loving all the retro pics and I can't wait to hear about this trip! Also I'm really glad Allie is indulging you with returning to Disneyland. As someone who had a 'meh' experience my first time, which was mostly just bad bad timing coming in the midst of major park renovations, my second trip (well, my second DCP actually) changed my opinion REALLY positively. I miss it so so much and hope personally to get back in 2021 too!
 
Random aside, did I ever tell you our dog growing up was named Allie? We were struggling to name her and my brother saw something in the paper and suggested it. Turns out it was for a movie named "Allie in Wonderland." So a Disney connection. Also he told us later it was an ad for a movie at the "adult" movie theater 😱
:lmao:
 
We were there the same time and rode on the third day it opened before all the protocols went in place. I also love pictures of Disney at Christmas.
 
I had all our vacation plans laid out for the next few years and well, covid came along and now I'm growing a human so suddenly all our plans are back up in the air!


Hi Courtney! Your trips are definitely going to be a little different from now on! Instead of choosing which cocktail you want next, you'll be asking for stroller suggestions and tips for traveling with a baby! It's so different but also so much fun!
 
This is the same for us, easy to travel with and loves to travel, Joe not so much. I’m so glad Andi loves it otherwise I would be traveling along most of the time. My husband isn’t afraid of flying but he is more of a hunting, dog training type of guy. Loves to spend his vacation on those activities! :sad2:

You and Andi are my inspiration! Oh boy, hunting and dog training…yeah, no thanks!

The sad thing is that I think Mike would like to travel but his fear or phobia gets the better of him.



Same our August reservations all gone. The uncertainty is the worst!

So sorry, but it'll all work out. We need to keep the faith. :hug:


This would be so fun, I’m in!!

EPIC Trip, 2021! Woot! :cool1:
 
Hi, Kelly!

Well, hello! Boy do I wish you had a trip in your back pocket to write about. I miss reading Pkondz's trip reports...and your games even though I suck at them!


Bring it on. I live for risk. And a comfy bed. And good food. Okay, maybe not so much risk.

:rotfl:


I'm betting Kissimmee.

Isn't it terrible I don't remember? And have zero pictures of it. What a horrible trip report writer I was in 1989!


Yikes!
But then again... you can wait as long as you want, you ain't gonna ride it now!

True! I'd gladly wait another two hours to ride it now :sad:


Holy cow! That must've been crazy!

It really was! I don't know that I would have planned it this way, but when they made the announcement of the date it was opening, the wheels in my head started spinning and a plan was made!


I didn't know that.

Yup. Sadly, it has to do with the fact that not all resorts are reopening, at least initially. Right now if you have a resort reservation through October 3rd, you can call and modify to a DVC resort or Fort Wilderness. We don't check in until October 6th so I have no idea what we'll be doing. POFQ may not even be open.



That'd be nice. I read so many TRs around that.

Nothing official, but you'll have to join us for the next one!
 
Woohoo!!!! Thanks for starting this and keeping more Disney magic in my life.

We all need a little more Disney in our lives…and not the sad, depressing news kind of Disney either!


How great to have a travel partner that will get on a plane for you ✈

Ha! Crazy, right??!


I hope Casey still loves Disney (and me) when she is Allie's age but I'm pretty sure there is no way Jason would stand for a girls trip :D

She will, especially if you're paying!

501427


Random aside, did I ever tell you our dog growing up was named Allie? We were struggling to name her and my brother saw something in the paper and suggested it. Turns out it was for a movie named "Allie in Wonderland." So a Disney connection. Also he told us later it was an ad for a movie at the "adult" movie theater 😱

I was thinking, "what a nice story,' and then…oh my! :rotfl2:
 
Joining in! I'm already loving all the retro pics and I can't wait to hear about this trip!

Hi! Thanks for joining!!

I'm really glad Allie is indulging you with returning to Disneyland. As someone who had a 'meh' experience my first time, which was mostly just bad bad timing coming in the midst of major park renovations, my second trip (well, my second DCP actually) changed my opinion REALLY positively.

That's so good to hear! She was a lot younger when she went and her dad doesn't plan like I do so they missed a LOT! They didn't even go on Mr. Toad's or It's a Small World!

I have lots of ideas for extras and will hopefully be booking the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour, as well as a WOC dessert party. She is already looking at all the snacks we are going to try so I think she will definitely like this trip more!



I miss it so so much and hope personally to get back in 2021 too!

Maybe we'll see you there!
 

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