ksinniger
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2013
Well, I’ve had so much fun reading SO MANY of the trip reports here on the DIS, I decided to pay it forward and give someone else just the distraction they need to keep them from getting work/chores/sleep in. Hope you decide to join in and follow along with the trip that ended up spawning 3 trips in 2014!
The background (sorry for the scarcity of photos – they will pop up eventually!)
This is me – Kathy (with my youngest and a couple of Corona’s finest). As a kid, my parents took me and my sisters to Disney World twice. I remember one VERY long drive with nothing but my Disney books on tape and a pillow to entertain me, a stay at the Polynesian (back when the slide was actually carved stone and would leave your legs and bathing suit all scratched up), waiting in line for space mountain back before the days of FP, and a few other bits and pieces. But I never considered myself a Disney addict.
This is my DH – Dave. He also remembers going to Disney World a couple times as a kid, but like me, never considered it as a vacation option once we hit adulthood. By the time we were married, his older sister (SIL) and her family were starting to become frequent travelers to WDW – they would drive to Disney on a moment’s notice when they got word of a great deal. We thought they were nuts.
Fast forward a decade or so, and we found ourselves parents of 3 lovely girls – Rachel, Sara & Josie.
As Rachel’s friends all visited WDW and came back talking about how great it was, and she saw all the photos of her cousins at WDW when visiting their home, she started asking when WE would go to WDW. In the summer 2012, we finally took the bait of a great rate on a 2-BR villa at Saratoga Springs and decided to pack up the van for a 4 night vacation. SIL, her husband and their youngest met us there and we had an amazing time, even in the heat and crowds of early July. Here’s our niece Katie with our 3 girls from the day we arrived at WDW – Mary Poppins greeted us as we entered with no line!
Anyway, before we even hit the highway for the drive back from that trip, I was thinking about the next one. We decided to shoot for the first week of November in 2014 – all 3 girls would be in school, but their school has a fall break so they’d only miss 3 days of school, at the beginning of a new quarter. The timing would mean a lot less heat, and hopefully much smaller crowds. We were also hoping that my sisters and their families would join us, but that never came through. But, we managed to convince my mom (Memere or Mem) to come along. We splurged on a room at the contemporary, and got a studio for my mom in Bay Lake Tower, which she shared with Rachel so we’d have more room in our Contemporary room.
I was planning this trip FOREVER. We booked our room as soon as the 2014 rates came out, and I dutifully followed along with crowd calendars and touring plan sites (which is where I discovered we’d be there during the dreaded “Jersey Week”). I watched as magic bands, FP+ and MDE were rolled out, and as New Fantasyland opened. I was online at 6 am making ADRs, and booked plane tickets the day JetBlue opened flights for November. I spent so much time planning, that I just couldn’t wait – and we ended up surprising the girls with a 4 night trip in January 2014,
And then again in August for the Frozen Summer Fun celebration.
And then, FINALLY, it was time for the trip we’d all REALLY been waiting for: Disney With Memere!
The background (sorry for the scarcity of photos – they will pop up eventually!)
This is me – Kathy (with my youngest and a couple of Corona’s finest). As a kid, my parents took me and my sisters to Disney World twice. I remember one VERY long drive with nothing but my Disney books on tape and a pillow to entertain me, a stay at the Polynesian (back when the slide was actually carved stone and would leave your legs and bathing suit all scratched up), waiting in line for space mountain back before the days of FP, and a few other bits and pieces. But I never considered myself a Disney addict.
This is my DH – Dave. He also remembers going to Disney World a couple times as a kid, but like me, never considered it as a vacation option once we hit adulthood. By the time we were married, his older sister (SIL) and her family were starting to become frequent travelers to WDW – they would drive to Disney on a moment’s notice when they got word of a great deal. We thought they were nuts.
Fast forward a decade or so, and we found ourselves parents of 3 lovely girls – Rachel, Sara & Josie.
As Rachel’s friends all visited WDW and came back talking about how great it was, and she saw all the photos of her cousins at WDW when visiting their home, she started asking when WE would go to WDW. In the summer 2012, we finally took the bait of a great rate on a 2-BR villa at Saratoga Springs and decided to pack up the van for a 4 night vacation. SIL, her husband and their youngest met us there and we had an amazing time, even in the heat and crowds of early July. Here’s our niece Katie with our 3 girls from the day we arrived at WDW – Mary Poppins greeted us as we entered with no line!
Anyway, before we even hit the highway for the drive back from that trip, I was thinking about the next one. We decided to shoot for the first week of November in 2014 – all 3 girls would be in school, but their school has a fall break so they’d only miss 3 days of school, at the beginning of a new quarter. The timing would mean a lot less heat, and hopefully much smaller crowds. We were also hoping that my sisters and their families would join us, but that never came through. But, we managed to convince my mom (Memere or Mem) to come along. We splurged on a room at the contemporary, and got a studio for my mom in Bay Lake Tower, which she shared with Rachel so we’d have more room in our Contemporary room.
I was planning this trip FOREVER. We booked our room as soon as the 2014 rates came out, and I dutifully followed along with crowd calendars and touring plan sites (which is where I discovered we’d be there during the dreaded “Jersey Week”). I watched as magic bands, FP+ and MDE were rolled out, and as New Fantasyland opened. I was online at 6 am making ADRs, and booked plane tickets the day JetBlue opened flights for November. I spent so much time planning, that I just couldn’t wait – and we ended up surprising the girls with a 4 night trip in January 2014,
And then again in August for the Frozen Summer Fun celebration.
And then, FINALLY, it was time for the trip we’d all REALLY been waiting for: Disney With Memere!