Warning! I tend to overdo things as well as over explain. My apologies in advance. I just wanted to share my excitement and my plans!
The Trip:
The first one in 12 years!
My Grandaughter ( 4 yr) ,My Grandson (2 yr) and My dear Son In Law’s First Trip EVER!
The week of my Mother’s Birthday.
The longest one we have ever take to WDW!!
The Cast:
Myself
Dear Husband
My 13 year old daughter – she is homeschooled and travels a lot with us so she does not have a lot of that “ I don’t wanna be with ya’ll” attitude. She has her moments but she is really a joy to travel with!
My 19 Year old Son.
My first born – my oldest daughter
Her husband
The best 4 year old in the world –Maddie! My granddaughter.
The cutest 2 year old boy in the world – Logan.
My mother
My father
My son’s girlfriend is still unsure of whether she will be able to spend any time with us.
The Dates:
March 1-March 11 2012 ( March 6th is my mother’s birthday)
A little Background:
Even though we have not been in an – ahem – few years, we are lifelong Disney lovers. My first memories of Disney are of Thanksgiving 1975 and the summer of 1976. In fact the camera strap on my favorite 35 mm was purchased by my dad in Disney the summer of 1976. That visit is when I rode Space Mountain for the first time!
I am going to sit down soon with mom and try to list all of the trips. I know I was there in 1984 at least once . I marched with my high school band in Donald Duck’s Birthday Parade. And Grad night in 1987. By the time I was in high school we averaged at least twice a year. There were many a Friday I got home from school and my father called me and said “Start packing for you and your sisters, we are going to Disney! (We are all 7 years apart so by HS I was really good at packing a younger child).
So one of the reasons I liked my husband ( ok love him) is his shared love of Disney. We honeymooned there! My youngest child took her first steps when she saw her daddy getting off Space Mountain during a kid swap! It was the summer the Disney TV commercials featured a young child telling their infant sibling that “Mom said we can’t go to Disney until you learn to walk” but they go anyway and the child takes her first steps at Disney. That was our last visit.
We wanted to expose our children to experiences other than Disney, I have had some health issues and a myriad of other reasons we did not go back. I have kept up with news and changes and planned to one day go back. So here we are. My parents have Florida Resident APs.
Where we are staying:
Off Property! We have rented a Vacation Home with Private Pool in Emerald Island.
I am really looking forward to the down time as much as the Disney time. My parents are staying at Fort Wilderness in their RV. I wanted to do a cabin there at first but once a friend recommended a Vacation Villa and I started researching this just seemed the way to go. Plus with the savings we can stay longer and do more things. Also, we can put the little ones to bed and still be able to spend time together.
Grandma’s Extra Magic…
I have been collecting stuff here and there so I can make welcome baskets for everyone. The little ones will have a note from Mickey to welcome them to his home. I will detail those later. I also have ordered Mickey themed paper plates,napkins,etc for use at the Villa because,well I tend to overdo everything.
If it were up to me I would plan every last minute, but my husband wisely curtails my planning. We all know the meltdowns and disappointments that can occur with overplanning. Especially with a large group that includes small children and first timers. I am so glad to have found the Passporter! I used it to plan ( of course) and also as a guide to discuss what the others wanted to do during our monthly Disney Meetings. Yes, we had them. I will give a brief overview of those later.
