Adulting is Hard - I am running away - Part Two - Now with added Teenager Action!

[MegsChaos]

A few years back I had planned this great trip. It was going to be all the ladies - no kids - drinking and laughing our way through the Parks. The plans were great - and then as can happen - life got in the way of my grand plans. But I packed my ears away and promised myself 'Soon'.

Then my son came home from high school - "MOM! THE CHOIR TRIP IS TO DISNEY!" Since it takes a a lot to get my teenager that excited (and Disney will do it every time) it got the gears turning in my head. And my phone out texting to see if ANYONE would be game (and brave enough) to take on Disney with me at Spring Break.

Now - before you think me COMPLETELY insane - allow me to clarify - I am NOT chaperoning teenagers at the Parks. I am not traveling with them down to the Parks. I am leaving that to the professionals. IE - the staff that will be in charge of that special kind of chaos. I am meeting him down there at the end of his trip and he gets added Disney time as well as some time at Universal so we can do the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Also, I am bringing a Disney Veteran with me.

Thus - I am FINALLY getting my 'Escape from Adulting' trip - in a way. We are already discussing a 2021 trip (while my son will be in college and we can send him ALL the pictures of us in Disney for Food and Wine, as he toils away at school. I am a generous mom that way!) But this is going to be an absolutely amazing trip and I can't wait to share the details with you all! Granted - some of this is already done and planned (I live spontaneously - not insanely)But there are still some details to iron out!

Going on this lovely adventure will be myself, my sixteen year old son and my very dear friend Lis. One other thing to clarify is that I am not entirely sure who is more excited about this trip of the three of us. I am so excited to get this opportunity and to be able to share this with my son and one of my very dear friends is just - it's amazing.

This is my son's FIRST time to the WDW AND the first time he will be staying on property. His previous trip to a Park was WDL and it was for Star Wars Celebration - so we didn't stay at the resort that time around. It's a whole lot of firsts for him and I am going to be documenting the heck out of it because I can. I earned that right to take a million pictures of him experiencing this.

So - LET'S GET PLANNING!

 

[MegsChaos]

When you are planning a trip to coincide with a school trip - there are steps that need to be taken. So, as I have found out so often over the years, I had to fill out paperwork. For those of you without kids - there is ALWAYS paperwork. ALWAYS. Be that as it was - the plan started off with my friend and I arriving a day early,enjoying Epcot and possibly a spa trip and then picking up my son. Also there were things like luggage pick up, magic band coordination, making sure our reservation ideas weren't going to overlap with his. Granted there were some I didn't care about if they did - Ohana being one of them.

But since the first night there it was going to be just my friend and I - we opted for POP! Century for a night. It seemed perfect! They had renovated rooms. They were easily accessible and we could get just about anywhere from the property.(Namely Epcot World Showcase to Drink Around the World) but that is neither here nor there. But then it occured to us - WHERE to stay once the teenager joined us. Did we want to stay at Pop or change resorts? Did we want to stay off site and rent a car? There were so many options to go over. Then something amazing happened. My friend opted to renew her AP. She was getting a trip in January for her brithday and with turning around and going in March it was a no brainer. The renewal of the AP made it clear - we were staying on property.

My dream is to stay at the Poly one day - but this was not that day. We opted to change to a resort she had stayed at previously and loved but that would be new to me. Beach Club. Reservations were made. Plans were started. The TRIP WAS HAPPENING.

Then something horrible happened. My friend was unemployed and suddenly everything was thrown into chaos. Would we go? SHOULD we go? Should I go without her and still meet my son? the options were plentiful and all just too much. Ultimately we decided to sit tight and wait out the unknown and keep our reservations. We were still in the cancellation window and it would all work out. Right? RIGHT?!

Well, it seemed the travel gods loved us - she found a great new place - but TWO trips and back to back? She was new and still the trip seemed a bit much to ask of a new employers. But ask she did and they were again amazing and gave her the leave. So the trip is officially getting the green light with one alteration. The first day - our 'girls only' day is now a 'relaxation' day for me. I get a day (and night) all to myself at Disney.

So our Reservations are:

3/13 - Pop! Century (Me, myself, and I)
3/14-3/19 - The Beach Club

We are also rolling my birthday celebration into the mix - as well as fully celebrating my son's first trip.

This will be the longest I have spent at one of the Parks in so long - i can't wait to share this with my son and such a great friend.

 

[mdsouth]

WOW! You must be doing the happy dance! I am happy to hear that your friend was able to find a new job - and one where the employers are allowing her to go on her trips!

It looks like I am the first to join in on your planning!

A few years back I had planned this great trip. It was going to be all the ladies - no kids - drinking and laughing our way through the Parks. The plans were great - and then as can happen - life got in the way of my grand plans. But I packed my ears away and promised myself 'Soon'.

Then my son came home from high school - "MOM! THE CHOIR TRIP IS TO DISNEY!" Since it takes a a lot to get my teenager that excited (and Disney will do it every time) it got the gears turning in my head. And my phone out texting to see if ANYONE would be game (and brave enough) to take on Disney with me at Spring Break.

Now - before you think me COMPLETELY insane - allow me to clarify - I am NOT chaperoning teenagers at the Parks. I am not traveling with them down to the Parks. I am leaving that to the professionals. IE - the staff that will be in charge of that special kind of chaos. I am meeting him down there at the end of his trip and he gets added Disney time as well as some time at Universal so we can do the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Also, I am bringing a Disney Veteran with me.

So - LET'S GET PLANNING!

I, too, like you love Disney and am always looking for ways to go back but the reality of life gets in the way. But like you my last trip to Disney in 2014 was because my son's high school band was going to DISNEY! And of course I charted a course and made plans to go. AND like you, I am not crazy enough to agree to go to Disney as a chaperone of teenagers. I teach teenagers - middle school and so I knew that I wanted to be able to go to Disney and enjoy it on my terms without supervising any other kids but my own.

Planning a Disney trip while trying to coordinate some things with the high school group is challenging. I made plans for Ohana for us one night but my son ended up not being able to go since the band director said that they all had to stay in the park and not leave. So, we ended up giving up or reservation. I hated to do that because it was our family's favorite meal from a previous trip and it was hard to get in the first place. The other thing that was hard was the band's plans kept changing. I would make my Fastpass selections and then get an updated notice that the band switched the park that they would be going to. AND all this was during President's Day week - a pretty crowded time to go to Disney. But I made the best of it since after all, I was at DISNEY!

My daughter was 10 at the time so she and I went down four days earlier than my son. My husband stayed home to be with my son until his band left on their bus. Then he flew down and joined us for our last three days at Disney when the band would be there. This worked perfectly for my family since I LOVE DISNEY and my hubby just tolerates it. He really had no desire to return to Disney but did to see my son perform and be a part of it. So, three days was the perfect amount of time for him.

I wrote a trip report and the link is in my signature if you want to check it out.