HELLO ? MICKEY? ARE YOU THERE?It's me again, and again, and again.....TR STARTED 6/3

[MHTeacher]

TRIP #1-----The “”WHY” of this trip--

Back before Christmas, Elizabeth informed me that the concert band at school would be playing at Disney during spring break (She plays the clarinet). The price---$500 a person. This included a chartered bus ride to Disney, a 3 day hopper, and 3 nights hotel off site. Well, since we have APs, I asked the band director if the separate components could be priced out for us. He couldn’t, or didn’t want to fool with it …..Either way….. I started looking at staying at a value resort, and driving ourselves down to Orlando. I figured that I could get Elizabeth to where the group would be each morning. Well, I priced the value at $358 for four nights (instead of three) + my gas to drive (around $200 round trip) …and I would be coming out a lot cheaper. Plus, it wouldn’t cost any more to take Rachel as well. Reid will be at his grandparents during spring break, so he won’t be joining in on this fun. I asked Kevin about it, and he said he didn’t need to take any vacation days then, but to go ahead and take the girls.

I then thought about my sister! One afternoon, I sent her a text, asking her if she wanted to go to Disney with us! (She loves Disney, almost as much as me. In fact, she and her family had gone just about two weeks before our big birthday trip.) Of course, she was interested, but had to get husbandly permission. She decided she would take my sweet baby niece and my funny 9 year old nephew. My oldest nephew, who’s a junior in high school, would not need to miss school.

Well now, this means no value resort…so I priced out POR, as we both agreed we needed to do this trip as cheaply as possible. After all, we all had just been there three months earlier!

So, now you know the why--- here’s the who, what, when, and where.

WHO:
Me (Michelle)

Elizabeth (My 16 year old driving daughter)

Rachel (My 13 year old pom-pom waving daughter, who wishes she was driving!)

Kelly (my younger sis---We haven’t been to Disney together, since 1986!!!)and Meg (My sweet baby girl niece who loves to dress up as the princesses and sign autographs! )

Reese (My 9 year old nephew---a super great athlete and a real ladies man )

WHAT: We’ll be traveling to Disneyworld together mainly to have fun---But we’ll also enjoy hearing Elizabeth’s band play one day.

WHEN: March 19-March 25

This part just kept growing. At first, we planned to leave on the 19th, the same day as the band, and travel all in one day, check into our Disney hotel, and leave on Tuesday, March 23rd. Then we decided that we might want one more night, so the check out day became Wednesday, March 24th. My sister will have to buy tickets for herself and her kids, so she called and said she wasn’t adverse to staying one more night either. SO…..I changed the reservation…again!

We will actually leave Alabama on Thursday, March 18th, and drive to Tallahassee to stop and spend the night. We will hopefully be at Disney by lunch on Friday, March 19th. We will be checking out on Thursday, March 25th and will drive home in one day.

WHERE: We will be staying at Port Orleans. It will be a tight squeeze what with two moms, three kids, and one baby girl…but we’ll make it!

More details later….like “Where do we eat?”

 

[ladybugmom]

Your children are just precious!! That is so sweet that they all sleep in the same bed on Christmas Eve--how fun!! ANd I just LOVE the Kate Gosselin costume--oh my!!! I'm also a big fan of your DH's BAMA shirts!! I think he's wearing one in every picture!! ROLL TIDE!!!

 

[SoonerGirl]

I too love the fact that your kids all sleep in the same bed on Christmas Eve - that is so stinkin' cute!!

Your pug is a cutie too, a very good friend of mine just lost her pug last summer - she was almost 20 years old!

Sounds like your going to have a great trip. Now we need to get down to the really important stuff - like where you're going to eat!

 

[toddlers_mom]

In response to your post ^^ up there, you're right! I've got someone to switch on and off with me to ride rides

You have a gorgeous family and your girls have got to be some heartbreakers! The Kate Gosselin costume is hilarious!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Great family introduction! My daughter and son like to sleep together every Christmas Eve too, it's a tradition. I saw sleep but I hear their giggles all night long...you'd think they were still little kids.

I am sure that ya'll will be fine in one room at POR. You'll be in Disney and that's all that matters.

 

[MHTeacher]

Your children are just precious!! That is so sweet that they all sleep in the same bed on Christmas Eve--how fun!! ANd I just LOVE the Kate Gosselin costume--oh my!!! I'm also a big fan of your DH's BAMA shirts!! I think he's wearing one in every picture!! ROLL TIDE!!!

Thanks Becky!

I never thought about how funny it is that they want to pile up in the bed together on Christmas Eve, but it is, isn't it? Even funnier, is the fact they call us on our home number, from their cell to tell us that they're awake on Christmas morning! They don't want to walk through the den and see any presents before we're up and out there!

Elizabeth got a lot of laughs from her costume...She wore jeans with heels, so her feet got to hurting after a while dragging that wagon around with 2 American dolls (they were the big twin sisters) and 6 Lee Middleton babies (the sextuplets)!!

I don't think Kevin packed anything but Bama shirts!

I too love the fact that your kids all sleep in the same bed on Christmas Eve - that is so stinkin' cute!!

Your pug is a cutie too, a very good friend of mine just lost her pug last summer - she was almost 20 years old!

Sounds like your going to have a great trip. Now we need to get down to the really important stuff - like where you're going to eat!

I'm not so sure how much sleeping they do on that night, but it's a big-to-do. First, they write letters to Santa to leave out with his snack---then it's off to bed.

We love our little puggie! She is just the best pet, not one mean bone in her body. She is so good natured ! I never had inside pets when I was growing up, so I didn't realize how attached you get to a pet that's with you all the time. They are like a memeber of your family.

Yes, the important stuff is....FOOD! My sister and I have mentioned a few places we'd like to try, since we'll only have half our familys to feed! We'll have to make some ADRs soon!

 

[carissanboys]

What a beautiful family you have, Michelle!

I love POR! We stayed there on our last trip and I fell in love. Nothing beats the boat rides to DTD.

 

[MHTeacher]

In response to your post ^^ up there, you're right! I've got someone to switch on and off with me to ride rides

You have a gorgeous family and your girls have got to be some heartbreakers! The Kate Gosselin costume is hilarious!

Thanks Kara! Your little boy is a doll as well.

She got a lot of laughs about the Kate Gosselin costume. She came up with the idea one evening, so we googled for a costume, and found the wig. I came up with the idea of pushing a stroller with 8 kids in it; of course, we couldn't find a stroller that big, so it turned into pulling a wagon with 8 kids in it !

Great family introduction! My daughter and son like to sleep together every Christmas Eve too, it's a tradition. I saw sleep but I hear their giggles all night long...you'd think they were still little kids.

I am sure that ya'll will be fine in one room at POR. You'll be in Disney and that's all that matters.

Awww, your kids still want to sleep together on Christmas Eve, too? I hope that when my girls come home from college, they'll still want to pile up in the bed together on that night!

Yes, we will be a little squashed.....Meg is so close to 3, and is tall for her age, so she will not sleep in a pack/play. She will want to be in the bed with her mama. We'll make it...like you said, we'll be at Disney!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Sounds like you've got a great trip planned! I love how it kept growing and growing
How exciting that your sister and niece and nephew will be joining you! I'm hoping that sometime soon I can take a family trip to Disney...I think it would be fun to be there with a lot of people. You all will have a blast!

 

[MHTeacher]

What a beautiful family you have, Michelle!

I love POR! We stayed there on our last trip and I fell in love. Nothing beats the boat rides to DTD.

Thanks Carissa! I am very blessed

We have stayed at POR a few times and never had any major complaints. I think it is a really pretty resort and I do enjoy that boat ride to DTD.

Sounds like you've got a great trip planned! I love how it kept growing and growing
How exciting that your sister and niece and nephew will be joining you! I'm hoping that sometime soon I can take a family trip to Disney...I think it would be fun to be there with a lot of people. You all will have a blast!

I know....pretty soon, we'll be there the entire week!

I am looking forward to going with them. The last time my sister and I went to Disney together, Ronald Reagan was president and nintendo games had just come out in the US! Oh, and yes, we were singing along with Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie---"We are the world, we are the children, ......" Oh- I am really old!

 

[Zookeeperof4]

I am catching up...but I am here...LOL

 

[MHTeacher]

Tina! I'm glad you're here for the planning fun!

 

[Zookeeperof4]

Well since you get to take two trips(you know it will be more..LOL) before I get to go, than I get to steal all of your tips and ideas.
BTW I also took the WDW band trip in 1996....wow does that sound long ago..LOL I was the drum major that year, and I lead the parade. I was so nervous that this CM came and talked me through it all calming me down. He said his name was Walt. After the parade I tried looking for him, cause well he was a cutie.....and the CMs laughed at me. I should have known..he played me like a cheap fiddle....his name was fake. Walt as in WALT DISNEY..duh.
Alas my dreams of marrying into the wonderful world of Disney died that day.....

 

[MHTeacher]

So in a previous post, I mentioned that the last time my sister and I had gone to Disneyworld together was in 1986. I thought it would be fun to recall what exactly was going on back then (…besides big hair and blue eyeliner! )

IN 1986:

1. Ronald Reagan was president of the United States.

2. A fourth television network was introduced---FOX. It began with broadcasting 10 hours of programming a week.

3. A first class postage stamp cost $0.22.

4. Nintendo video games were introduced in the US.

5. The Oprah Winfrey Show premiered nationally.

6. The top 10 films of the year included: Crocodile Dundee, Aliens, Karate Kid: Part 2, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (Bueller? Bueller? …..), and the top grossing film was (drum roll, please…) Top Gun! Man, didn’t we all fall in love with Tom Cruise then?

7. Top rated television shows included Magnum, PI, and Dynasty.

8. Bobby Ewing came out of the shower----ALIVE! The prior season of Dallas had just been a bad dream!

AND what about Disneyworld?

Here are some links to a couple of Disney/1986 related items. One is a link to a video of the Christmas parade. The other is a travel blog, which shows some pictures from the park. (I’d forgotten all about 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjmPAnqWJ_s

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/abatage/caulfield82/539622000/tpod.html#_

 

[WizardLarz]

DH keeps insisting we're going on a strict budget this year. PARTY-POOPER!

doesn't it, Kara? We need to have a big DIS meet, don't we?[/QUOTE]

1. You just need to persuade your husband into bying DVC!

2. A May Dis Meet would Rock!

 

[MainStMandy]

Michelle I'm loving your PTR!! I don't know how I missed this!!! I haven't been on the TR boards for a while and I've missed reading along with everyone! Can't wait to read more...you have a beautiful family!!

 

[disneylovin24]

I loved your recap of 1986, oh how the times have changed!!!

 

[MHTeacher]

Well since you get to take two trips(you know it will be more..LOL) before I get to go, than I get to steal all of your tips and ideas.

You're quite welcome to any tips I may have. I think we all borrow each other's tips and ideas on the DIS!

1. You just need to persuade your husband into bying DVC!

2. A May Dis Meet would Rock!

1. YES---do you mind to give him a call?

2. I thnk we definitely need to have a May-DIS meet, since so many of us will be there!

Michelle I'm loving your PTR!! I don't know how I missed this!!! I haven't been on the TR boards for a while and I've missed reading along with everyone! Can't wait to read more...you have a beautiful family!!

Thanks and ! Glad you're joining in.

 

[MHTeacher]

I loved your recap of 1986, oh how the times have changed!!!

Yes.....those were the days, weren't they?

 

[The4bits]

subbing... love your PTR. You are SO lucky. So many trips. I need to go read about the 16th birthday trip. Can't wait for more.