kristenrice
NOT just an ambulance driver
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2006
Looking back at all of the "trip reports" that I have started through the years, I have come to realize that I am really bad at actually reporting about the trip, but I do a great job at documenting my planning process. I'm late in the game for this trip since we are only 10 months out now, but I guess it's better late than never...so here goes!
For this trip, it will be my sister and I and our four daughters. We did the same trip back in 2016 and our husbands came along but they did not enjoy themselves and turned into "adult toddlers" about three days into the trip. They gave us their blessing to take another trip without them. If you've read any of my previous postings, you'd know that my dad is a Disney fanatic and we cannot take a trip without him so as long as my parents are still physically able to travel, they are coming too.
My nieces (Olivia, 11 and Emilee, 7) go to the same school as my younger daughter, Kaedyn (14). My older daughter, Kamryn (16) is in high school so she is obviously at a different building. The kids all have a break in the fall so that is the week we decided to travel. My sister is fairly certain that this will be her last trip to WDW with her kids so she wants to maximize it for them. She decided to take the kids out of school on Thursday and Friday and then the following Monday and Tuesday. They have no school Wed-Fri so we are returning home on Saturday.
My girls are older so my original plan was to leave on Friday after school and so they would only miss two days of school. The girls are above-average students and their teachers are very supportive of allowing them to miss school for family vacations. On top of that, a lot of their homework is assigned online so they can take care of their assignments even while on vacation so they do not fall behind. (*Side note: One of Kamryn's teachers actually told us that he WANTED her to miss school in order to go hunting with her dad on opening day of firearm deer season because that is an experience that cannot be replicated in school and something that she will cherish. This was just two weeks after she got back from a Disney vacation with me so we were hesitant to ask for more vacation time, but all of her teachers encouraged it)
I had enough DVC points to book us all in a 2BR standard view at my home resort of Animal Kingdom Villas for 5 nights. We opted for Kidani Village because of the third bathroom...uh, 7 girls? Duh! Of course we are going to need 3 bathrooms. I booked us in a lock-off 2BR, arriving on Friday and checking out on Wednesday. My girls and I will be staying in the studio portion since we might be arriving very late on Friday night and we do not want to disturb my sister and her girls, who will be sleeping in the living room. My parents will have the master bedroom.
Then, we transferred in BWV points (which my dad paid for) and we were able to book a Boardwalk View 2BR for the last 3 nights at BWV. My girls and I will have the studio portion, along with Emilee, who will sleep on the pull-down bed. My sister and Olivia will share the living room, and mom and dad get the master again.
That sets our final length of stay at 8 nights. Back in 2016, right after we got back, we started planning our next trip and we decided to buy 7-day park-hopper tickets from UnderCoverTourist. This was before they had expiration dates so they are still good. I did not buy one for myself since I had other trips planned in the interim, so I will be using up my AP. Since we will essentially have 9 days and only 7 days of passes, I suggested that we go to the MNSSHP. I have gone 3 times and my kids have gone twice, but nobody else has done it. I thought it would be a great idea for my sister and her kids since this will be their final trip to WDW and I know my dad would love it too. On top of that, since DVC members and their guests can get into the MK at 2pm with just a party ticket, this would effectively add a day to our park time too. My sister was on board with it, but my dad was a little hesitant, especially when he heard the cost. I solved that problem by presenting them with homemade MNSSHP "tickets" for Christmas. I told mom and dad that their Christmas present is two tickets to the party so we are definitely going now. (*There is more to this story that I will get to later....stay tuned)
For this trip, it will be my sister and I and our four daughters. We did the same trip back in 2016 and our husbands came along but they did not enjoy themselves and turned into "adult toddlers" about three days into the trip. They gave us their blessing to take another trip without them. If you've read any of my previous postings, you'd know that my dad is a Disney fanatic and we cannot take a trip without him so as long as my parents are still physically able to travel, they are coming too.
My nieces (Olivia, 11 and Emilee, 7) go to the same school as my younger daughter, Kaedyn (14). My older daughter, Kamryn (16) is in high school so she is obviously at a different building. The kids all have a break in the fall so that is the week we decided to travel. My sister is fairly certain that this will be her last trip to WDW with her kids so she wants to maximize it for them. She decided to take the kids out of school on Thursday and Friday and then the following Monday and Tuesday. They have no school Wed-Fri so we are returning home on Saturday.
My girls are older so my original plan was to leave on Friday after school and so they would only miss two days of school. The girls are above-average students and their teachers are very supportive of allowing them to miss school for family vacations. On top of that, a lot of their homework is assigned online so they can take care of their assignments even while on vacation so they do not fall behind. (*Side note: One of Kamryn's teachers actually told us that he WANTED her to miss school in order to go hunting with her dad on opening day of firearm deer season because that is an experience that cannot be replicated in school and something that she will cherish. This was just two weeks after she got back from a Disney vacation with me so we were hesitant to ask for more vacation time, but all of her teachers encouraged it)
I had enough DVC points to book us all in a 2BR standard view at my home resort of Animal Kingdom Villas for 5 nights. We opted for Kidani Village because of the third bathroom...uh, 7 girls? Duh! Of course we are going to need 3 bathrooms. I booked us in a lock-off 2BR, arriving on Friday and checking out on Wednesday. My girls and I will be staying in the studio portion since we might be arriving very late on Friday night and we do not want to disturb my sister and her girls, who will be sleeping in the living room. My parents will have the master bedroom.
Then, we transferred in BWV points (which my dad paid for) and we were able to book a Boardwalk View 2BR for the last 3 nights at BWV. My girls and I will have the studio portion, along with Emilee, who will sleep on the pull-down bed. My sister and Olivia will share the living room, and mom and dad get the master again.
That sets our final length of stay at 8 nights. Back in 2016, right after we got back, we started planning our next trip and we decided to buy 7-day park-hopper tickets from UnderCoverTourist. This was before they had expiration dates so they are still good. I did not buy one for myself since I had other trips planned in the interim, so I will be using up my AP. Since we will essentially have 9 days and only 7 days of passes, I suggested that we go to the MNSSHP. I have gone 3 times and my kids have gone twice, but nobody else has done it. I thought it would be a great idea for my sister and her kids since this will be their final trip to WDW and I know my dad would love it too. On top of that, since DVC members and their guests can get into the MK at 2pm with just a party ticket, this would effectively add a day to our park time too. My sister was on board with it, but my dad was a little hesitant, especially when he heard the cost. I solved that problem by presenting them with homemade MNSSHP "tickets" for Christmas. I told mom and dad that their Christmas present is two tickets to the party so we are definitely going now. (*There is more to this story that I will get to later....stay tuned)