An-Almost-Grand-Gathering-with-Mostly-First-Timers report - FINAL UPDATE 3/16 - COMPLETE
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mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince · 01-08-2007, 12:30 PM

I've really enjoyed reading all of your trip reports, and learned so much from them. I hope I can do the same for all of you!

Dates: January 27 – 31, February 4

Cast of characters:

me - Beth, “Mama”, 37, homeschooling, scrapbooking, stay-at-home-mom – 4th trip to WDW (1981, 1986, 2001)
dh - Rick, “Daddy”, 41, hardworking, fun-loving, barbershop-singing dad – 2nd trip to WDW (2001)
ds - Christian, “Bubba” or “Bubby”, 11, smart, fun, happy, barbershop-loving boy who has cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair – 2nd trip to WDW (2001)
dd - Rose, “Rosie”, 7, creative, sensitive, book-loving 7-year-old - 2nd trip to WDW
dd - Grace, “Graciebug,” hilarious, passionate, energetic, Cinderella-loving 5- year-old– 1st trip to WDW
dd - Kate, “Sweet-Sweet,” 18 months, is the sweetest, smartest, best baby ever! – 1st trip to WDW
DMIL - Pat, “Gramma”, helpful, caring, kind, grand-children-loving grandmother
DFIL - Dave, “Grampa”, punny, oustanding, barbershop-singing, grand-children-loving grandfather

The origins of this trip are a bit long-winded. Hope you’ll bear with me and find it interesting!

My parents live around the corner from us, and my in-laws live five minutes away. We are a very close-knit family. They all have big hearts and helping hands, and we couldn’t raise our family without their help. My in-laws, especially, will baby sit at the drop of a hat, and always tell us how much they love their grandchildren!

My folks rented a condo in Florida for the first time this winter. They planned to be there for six weeks, and invited us to come for a visit. Mom offered to take care of Kate for a couple of days so we could go to WDW. At first, I thought it was a great idea, but the more I thought about it, I realized that I had a dilemma. Kate is my last child, and such a wonderful baby. I didn’t want to leave her for more than a couple of days, but I also didn’t want to go to WDW for just a couple of days, either. I decided that my family would all go to WDW first, and then spend some time at my mom’s afterwards.

A little while later, I had a crazy thought. Why not invite the in-laws to go to WDW with us? We enjoy their company, and I thought they’d love to see their grandkids enjoying themselves at WDW. They thought it was a good idea, and after much emailing back-and-forth about dates (my FIL would just NOT commit!) we finally booked our trip through a TA they had worked with a couple of years ago, when they took their entire family (16 total!) to Mexico. Imagine my surprise when they announced that since they hadn’t taken the whole family on another big trip like they’d planned, they would pay for WDW for us, and take Rick’s brother & sister’s families on different trips at a later date! Wow! I was so grateful! Of course, I told them that I didn’t invite them along so they could pay for the trip, but they insisted. They are awesome.

We planned to stay at the Beach Club Villas, which offered us lots more room to spread out and not be on top of each other all the time, at half the price of a suite in one of the deluxe resorts. I had really wanted to stay at AKL, but it was going to be too expensive for two rooms. The TA suggested a suite, and we looked at both VWL and BCV. I considered VWL because of its proximity to MK, but the look of BCV and Stormalong Bay won me over! (My girls love to swim; hopefully the January weather will cooperate!) We liked the idea of being able to walk to Epcot, and take the boat to MGM, thus avoiding the hassle of getting a wheelchair on a bus for every trip to the parks.

We are flying AirTran Airways out of Flint, which is about the same distance from our house as the Detroit airport, but smaller and a lot less crowded, so they tell me. We have a 7:00 a.m. flight, which will arrive about 9:42, and then we’ll take DME to the Beach Club.

Our daily itinerary looks like this:
Saturday: lunch at Le Cellier, rest/swim, dinner at LTT

Sunday: AK a.m., rest/swim, MK p.m. for EMH, dinner at Ohana

Monday: Epcot a.m. for the boys, DTD a.m. for the girls, including 1 p.m. appt. at BBB; dinner for us at 1900 Park Fare, dinner for MIL/FIL at Victoria & Albert’s (a surprise for them, on us!); the big girls and I to the Pirate & Princess Party.

Tuesday: sleep in and swim in the a.m., MGM p.m., late lunch at H & V

Wednesday: check-out, pick up rental vehicles, MK for as long as we want to stay, then off to Bonita Springs for three days to visit with my parents

Sunday: one more half-day at MK! We’d purchased 5 day passes, and the girls will only be using 4 days’ worth, due to our morning at DTD. We plan on adding a day to the boys’ passes and sneak back to MK before our 8:15 p.m. flight! (We haven’t told the kids yet; I think we’ll surprise them when they think we’re heading to the airport!)

Now, about the TR title: we technically have enough in our travel party for a Grand Gathering, but Kate doesn’t really “count” because she’s under 3. The last time we were at WDW, Rose was 19 months old, so technically, she’s a first-timer, along with Grace & Kate. The in-laws had been to Epcot once, about twenty years ago, so technically, they’re first-timers, too. Thus, An-Almost-Grand-Gathering-with-Mostly-First-Timers trip report!

**Colexis Mom** · 01-08-2007, 12:35 PM

Great start Beth [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] I hope you have a magical trip! Can't wait to hear all about it [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

**Grammy Grumpy** · 01-08-2007, 12:44 PM

Great start! Looking forward to hearing all about your experiences!

pparm · 01-08-2007, 12:46 PM

It sounds like you've got a wonderful trip planned!
Can't wait to read all about it when you return.

Paula

**wdwlovers** · 01-08-2007, 01:38 PM

Looks like a great trip is in store for you and your family! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

coastgirl · 01-08-2007, 02:43 PM

Sounds like a lovely trip, and you have a beautiful family! Maybe we'll see you there! (That EMH night at MK, we'll be in a boat in the lagoon watching Wishes! I find it really funny to know what other people will be doing while I'm doing something...)

disneydani · 01-08-2007, 06:17 PM

You're off to a wonderful start, can't wait to hear all about your experiences! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

bsblady01 · 01-08-2007, 10:33 PM

I hope that you and your family have a greta time at the world.

**WDWfan** · 01-08-2007, 10:45 PM

Beth - I can't wait to hear about your trip. Your plans look great! You do have wonderful ILs. With 4 kids the extra hands will be welcome. Have a magical trip!

**mattnkatsmum** · 01-09-2007, 01:10 AM

You have a great trip planned, Bet. And you have fantastic in-laws - I'll swap you for mine [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img].

I'll be keeping an eye out for you. I'm sure our paths will cross.

**PrincessSharon** · 01-10-2007, 01:41 PM

Great start, Beth! Your plans look great! Can't wait to hear about it!

mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince · 01-17-2007, 03:44 PM

Made a couple of changes in our ADRs; I really hope this is the last; we leave in 9 days!

The reason for the switch is because my dd5 decided that Cinderella is NOT her favorite princess anymore. So I decided not to go to any trouble to see her for dinner, and canceled 1900 PF! That opened up some options, but dh picked CMC so he doesn't have to get the two kids back to the resort by himself after dinner, while we three princesses go to the P & P Party!

I also canceled LTT dinner on Saturday, because all I could get was 4:15 and we'll be eating lunch at Le Cellier around noon. We'll catch LTT for lunch on Wed. Only disappointment is, no characters for lunch. But I love the atmosphere and food at LTT, so no biggie!

Saturday 1/27
11:40 Lunch at Le Cellier

Sunday 1/28
5:35 Dinner for 8 at Ohana

Monday 1/29
5:40 Dinner for our family at Cape May Cafe
5:30 Dinner for the in-laws at Victoria & Albert’s (our treat AND a surprise for them!)

Tuesday 1/30
1:40 Playhouse disney lunch for 8 at H & V

Wednesday 1/31
8:35 Princess Storybook Breakfast for 5 at Epcot Akershus, (girls only)
12:10 lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern

**Colexis Mom** · 01-17-2007, 05:26 PM

Looks like a great plan! Have a great time [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

**snoozin** · 01-17-2007, 05:48 PM

You know... I'm glad I'm not the only one who enjoys peeking in and reading about other people's plans and lives... just feel like part of the family this way!

**WDWfan** · 01-17-2007, 11:22 PM

Beth - Your plans look great! Have a magical trip. I'll be waiting to hear all about it when you get back!

01-08-2007, 12:30 PM	#1 (permalink)
mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince Community Rank: Trekker Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,214	An-Almost-Grand-Gathering-with-Mostly-First-Timers report - FINAL UPDATE 3/16 - COMPLETE I've really enjoyed reading all of your trip reports, and learned so much from them. I hope I can do the same for all of you! Dates: January 27 – 31, February 4 Cast of characters: me - Beth, “Mama”, 37, homeschooling, scrapbooking, stay-at-home-mom – 4th trip to WDW (1981, 1986, 2001) dh - Rick, “Daddy”, 41, hardworking, fun-loving, barbershop-singing dad – 2nd trip to WDW (2001) ds - Christian, “Bubba” or “Bubby”, 11, smart, fun, happy, barbershop-loving boy who has cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair – 2nd trip to WDW (2001) dd - Rose, “Rosie”, 7, creative, sensitive, book-loving 7-year-old - 2nd trip to WDW dd - Grace, “Graciebug,” hilarious, passionate, energetic, Cinderella-loving 5- year-old– 1st trip to WDW dd - Kate, “Sweet-Sweet,” 18 months, is the sweetest, smartest, best baby ever! – 1st trip to WDW DMIL - Pat, “Gramma”, helpful, caring, kind, grand-children-loving grandmother DFIL - Dave, “Grampa”, punny, oustanding, barbershop-singing, grand-children-loving grandfather The origins of this trip are a bit long-winded. Hope you’ll bear with me and find it interesting! My parents live around the corner from us, and my in-laws live five minutes away. We are a very close-knit family. They all have big hearts and helping hands, and we couldn’t raise our family without their help. My in-laws, especially, will baby sit at the drop of a hat, and always tell us how much they love their grandchildren! My folks rented a condo in Florida for the first time this winter. They planned to be there for six weeks, and invited us to come for a visit. Mom offered to take care of Kate for a couple of days so we could go to WDW. At first, I thought it was a great idea, but the more I thought about it, I realized that I had a dilemma. Kate is my last child, and such a wonderful baby. I didn’t want to leave her for more than a couple of days, but I also didn’t want to go to WDW for just a couple of days, either. I decided that my family would all go to WDW first, and then spend some time at my mom’s afterwards. A little while later, I had a crazy thought. Why not invite the in-laws to go to WDW with us? We enjoy their company, and I thought they’d love to see their grandkids enjoying themselves at WDW. They thought it was a good idea, and after much emailing back-and-forth about dates (my FIL would just NOT commit!) we finally booked our trip through a TA they had worked with a couple of years ago, when they took their entire family (16 total!) to Mexico. Imagine my surprise when they announced that since they hadn’t taken the whole family on another big trip like they’d planned, they would pay for WDW for us, and take Rick’s brother & sister’s families on different trips at a later date! Wow! I was so grateful! Of course, I told them that I didn’t invite them along so they could pay for the trip, but they insisted. They are awesome. We planned to stay at the Beach Club Villas, which offered us lots more room to spread out and not be on top of each other all the time, at half the price of a suite in one of the deluxe resorts. I had really wanted to stay at AKL, but it was going to be too expensive for two rooms. The TA suggested a suite, and we looked at both VWL and BCV. I considered VWL because of its proximity to MK, but the look of BCV and Stormalong Bay won me over! (My girls love to swim; hopefully the January weather will cooperate!) We liked the idea of being able to walk to Epcot, and take the boat to MGM, thus avoiding the hassle of getting a wheelchair on a bus for every trip to the parks. We are flying AirTran Airways out of Flint, which is about the same distance from our house as the Detroit airport, but smaller and a lot less crowded, so they tell me. We have a 7:00 a.m. flight, which will arrive about 9:42, and then we’ll take DME to the Beach Club. Our daily itinerary looks like this: Saturday: lunch at Le Cellier, rest/swim, dinner at LTT Sunday: AK a.m., rest/swim, MK p.m. for EMH, dinner at Ohana Monday: Epcot a.m. for the boys, DTD a.m. for the girls, including 1 p.m. appt. at BBB; dinner for us at 1900 Park Fare, dinner for MIL/FIL at Victoria & Albert’s (a surprise for them, on us!); the big girls and I to the Pirate & Princess Party. Tuesday: sleep in and swim in the a.m., MGM p.m., late lunch at H & V Wednesday: check-out, pick up rental vehicles, MK for as long as we want to stay, then off to Bonita Springs for three days to visit with my parents Sunday: one more half-day at MK! We’d purchased 5 day passes, and the girls will only be using 4 days’ worth, due to our morning at DTD. We plan on adding a day to the boys’ passes and sneak back to MK before our 8:15 p.m. flight! (We haven’t told the kids yet; I think we’ll surprise them when they think we’re heading to the airport!) Now, about the TR title: we technically have enough in our travel party for a Grand Gathering, but Kate doesn’t really “count” because she’s under 3. The last time we were at WDW, Rose was 19 months old, so technically, she’s a first-timer, along with Grace & Kate. The in-laws had been to Epcot once, about twenty years ago, so technically, they’re first-timers, too. Thus, An-Almost-Grand-Gathering-with-Mostly-First-Timers trip report! Last edited by mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince : 02-09-2007 at 01:28 PM.

01-08-2007, 12:46 PM	#4 (permalink)
pparm Community Rank: Jetsetter Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Berwick, PA Posts: 2,227	Re: An-Almost-Grand-Gathering-with-Mostly-First-Timers pre-trip report It sounds like you've got a wonderful trip planned! Can't wait to read all about it when you return. Paula

01-08-2007, 02:43 PM	#6 (permalink)
coastgirl Community Rank: Trekker Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Nova Scotia Canada Posts: 1,157	Re: An-Almost-Grand-Gathering-with-Mostly-First-Timers pre-trip report Sounds like a lovely trip, and you have a beautiful family! Maybe we'll see you there! (That EMH night at MK, we'll be in a boat in the lagoon watching Wishes! I find it really funny to know what other people will be doing while I'm doing something...)

01-08-2007, 06:17 PM	#7 (permalink)
disneydani Community Rank: Trailblazer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 5,461	Re: An-Almost-Grand-Gathering-with-Mostly-First-Timers pre-trip report You're off to a wonderful start, can't wait to hear all about your experiences! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

01-08-2007, 10:33 PM	#8 (permalink)
bsblady01 Community Rank: Jetsetter Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: new york Posts: 2,957	Re: An-Almost-Grand-Gathering-with-Mostly-First-Timers pre-trip report I hope that you and your family have a greta time at the world.

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01-17-2007, 03:44 PM	#12 (permalink)
mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince Community Rank: Trekker Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,214	Re: An-Almost-Grand-Gathering-with-Mostly-First-Timers pre-trip report Made a couple of changes in our ADRs; I really hope this is the last; we leave in 9 days! The reason for the switch is because my dd5 decided that Cinderella is NOT her favorite princess anymore. So I decided not to go to any trouble to see her for dinner, and canceled 1900 PF! That opened up some options, but dh picked CMC so he doesn't have to get the two kids back to the resort by himself after dinner, while we three princesses go to the P & P Party! I also canceled LTT dinner on Saturday, because all I could get was 4:15 and we'll be eating lunch at Le Cellier around noon. We'll catch LTT for lunch on Wed. Only disappointment is, no characters for lunch. But I love the atmosphere and food at LTT, so no biggie! Saturday 1/27 11:40 Lunch at Le Cellier Sunday 1/28 5:35 Dinner for 8 at Ohana Monday 1/29 5:40 Dinner for our family at Cape May Cafe 5:30 Dinner for the in-laws at Victoria & Albert’s (our treat AND a surprise for them!) Tuesday 1/30 1:40 Playhouse disney lunch for 8 at H & V Wednesday 1/31 8:35 Princess Storybook Breakfast for 5 at Epcot Akershus, (girls only) 12:10 lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern

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