5 adults going, 4 different parks, 3 generations, 2 spunky children, & 1 magic trip!

[diskneefamily]

Hi everybody!!

Part time lurker here taking my first shot at a PTR, so don't worry, you won't offend me if you abandon me after the first few posts. I forgive you! I started this thread earlier, but DH got when he saw all the detail I was putting in about when we'd be gone, etc. So I've signed up under another name and will now be using this one.

Let me introduce you to the cast of characters you'll be reading about on this fabulous journey down to the World in December 2010 (and other items of interest that will be going on before we head on down).

First there's me! I'm Sarah. I'm a 28 year old stay at home mom to two wonderful kids. We live in GA, pretty close to ATL and about 8 hours from WDW. I'm always the one taking the pictures so this is pretty much the only shot you'll see of me until the trip.

Favorite Character: Sleeping Beauty
Favorite Movie: Can't choose just one! The only Disney movie I still can't watch is The Black Cauldron. It still creeps me out!


Next up is my DH, Jon. He's 33 and does software development for AT&T. He's not so much a Disney fan, but I'm working on him! I somehow managed to talk him into getting AP's, so he can't dislike it that much, can he?

Favorite Character: Jack Sparrow
Favorite Movie: Pirates of the Caribbean

We've been married for 5 years now and it seems like time has just flown by.

Next comes DS, Noah, who will be turning 3 in September. He's all boy and LOVES cars, trucks, trains, and monster trucks. He's quite the little ham and loves to make everybody laugh! Noah will do just about anything to get you to smile and he loves his little sister. When we first brought her home we were a little worried, but things have completely changed and they love to play together.

Favorite Movie: Cars
Favorite Character: Lighting McQueen

Audrey is our DD and she'll be 1 in September. Yep, both my kids are September babies. They are 2 years, 2 weeks, and 2 days apart. I'm thinking our lucky number is 2. What do you think? DH and I were lucky this time around and she's a pretty easy going baby. As long as she has her crib for naps and her bottle when she's hungry, we're all good!

Favorite Character: TBA
Favorite Movie: TBA

Both of them are pretty spunky so the trip should be interesting! Noah will be a little over 3 and Audrey will almost be 15 months.

My mom and sister both live in Kansas (it's where I'm originally from before I moved to GA with DH). Both of them try to see the kids when they can, but it's a little hard since we're so far apart. I try to send them a few pictures a week on my cell of both the kids so they don't feel too left out. Noah ADORES my mom and sister so whenever they come to visit, he's in heaven. I'm not going to tell you how old either one of them is, but one of them was born in 1950 and the other in 1984. hehe See? I didn't tell you their age, just the year. If you do the math, you'll figure it out for yourself. Noah calls my mom "Nana", so that's what she'll be called in the PTR.

Nana:
Favorite Character: Ariel
Favorite Movie: Lady and the Tramp

Kallie:
Favorite Character: Belle
Favorite Movie: Beauty and the Beast

My sisters boyfriend will also be joining us (unless they break-up). I haven't been to my parents house in a while, so I have yet to meet him. I do know his name is Jason and he works for Panera Bread, but that's about it. When I know more, you will too!


This will be our first trip to WDW together as a whole family, but I had been before in 1989. Our first trip was in 2008 with our DS, Noah, who was 15 months old at the time, my mom (Reida/Nana), and my sister (Kallie).

So now you're thinking, "Hey, this lady can't do math! You can't have 2 first trips!" But if you re-read carefully you'll see I said first trip as a WHOLE family. This time we're bring our 2008 Disney souvenir! DD, Audrey, is 9 months now so this will be her first trip with us.

I'll talk about our plans in the next post. Hope to see you there!

Sarah

 

[diskneefamily]

Here's a picture of Noah after swimming at the Y today for the first time this year. We used to go all the time last summer before Audrey made her debut but since Noah was so young, he doesn't remember it. He had a blast! And then...

He tried to lay down in the pool but the water kept getting in his ears. I had to carry him over to the lounge chair and he stayed there for about 10 minutes. "Mommy, I need a break!" Never thought Noah would be the one saying that!

To give a little more background on our trip to all of you, I started planning this trip last June. At that time I was REALLY pregnant and needed something to keep my mind off of the fact I was going to have 2 little ones running around.

We were going to go in September and then Jon suggested we go in October so we could see all of the Halloween decorations and spend Halloween there. So I called WDW and made the reservation. Kallie then decided October didn't work for her but November did and "would you mind going later?" Called WDW back and told them December 3-11, 2010 for 2 rooms at POP. We had stayed at POP back in 2008 and really liked it so we figured why change when it works for us. So we were booked and ready to go for our December 2010 trip on August 26th, 2009. I booked the trip so early that I had to call and add Audrey onto the reservation after she was born. (Might I add, I told DH to call the insurance company 3 hours after she was born so she could be on the policy and then told him to call Disney. DH said a few days wouldn't matter but realized he was talking to a woman who had just had a c-section. DH made the call).

As I settled in as being a mom to DS and DD, I thought life was pretty great! Then in January my mom heard about the cabins at FW . DH had no idea what she was talking about and when I told him that's where he decided he wanted to stay. So I called back to Disney and canceled the reservation for POP and moved it over to the cabins at FW. Do you see a pattern here? I had been asking for everybody's input and I kept hearing "it's all up to you! You know what will make everybody happy!"

Everything was humming along nicely when came my way in April! I had been telling DH that getting groceries in the car was like playing Tetris with both of the car seats, double stroller, and other odds and ends we kept in our old car. Low and behold, DH had been listening to me the whole time! DH had been calling around to dealerships and found a dealer who was giving us a great deal on a Honda Odyssey! No more Tetris! "Do you want it for your birthday? (And every other major/minor holiday for the next five years?" Ummmm... YES!!

Can you guess what this led to? Yep! Another change in our plans! I know you think we're crazy and we probably are , but this opened up a whole new world of possibilities for us! We were going to drive down from GA anyway, were weren't going to do the DDP, and once my mom and sister were with us then all 6 of us wouldn't fit in the Ford Escape we had just traded in. Now we had more room, we could drive off site to eat instead of me having to cook every meal at the cabin, and we could drive to and from the parks without having to wait for the buses like we did last time (DH HATED the buses with a passion).

We started looking at rental homes and found one we liked and was within our price range. Now we're staying at a home in the Rolling Hills subdivision and saving a pretty good chunk of change to boot! I'm going to miss being in a Disney environment all the time because I think it does have that magic, but when it makes everybody else happy, what can you do?


So here's the Final Plan (because the home owners don't give refunds on the security deposit!):
Where: Rolling Hills subdivision
When: December 3-11
Who: Me, DH, DS, DD, Mother, Sister, and sister's boyfriend

Our neighbor, Kristin, is going to house and dog-sit for us while we're gone so she can get a break from her parents and get ready for finals. She's awesome and I'm so thankful she's going to help us out while we're gone!

Okay, I know I gave you information overload, but I promise there won't be any tests! Have a great weekend!

Sarah

 

[Goofy442]

Thank You for the PM. Funny when I was just looking around and came across this one, I said same pictures but different title huh. Didn't see the PM you sent me till now.

 

[diskneefamily]

Goofy442! Glad you could make it over and found the PM I sent you! Hopefully you'll have fun reading about all my crazy planning adventures!

Sarah

 

[Goofy442]

Thanks and can't wait to hear your plans.
Sneezie signed into your old post, hopefully they will find you.