The “Disney Trip without a title” pre-trip report - UPDATED 4/6 About This Page:

[TheThomasFam]

That’s right-I have no title. But it’s early yet so I’m not going to fret (Okay, that may be the only time I rhyme – oops, I did it again ). So anyway, thethomasfam are going on their first ever WDW vacation in June 2009 (man, that’s a long ways away!!)

Alittle background first . . .

There are 3 of us going (so far):

Me – Kim (39 when we go). The last time I was at WDW was in 2000. We (my husband and I) stayed at my in-laws timeshare. I probably would have had a better time if my husband had stayed home but let’s not go there. Before that I went to WDW when I was a kid in 1974 and 1976. I wouldn’t call myself an obsessed WDW person (Oh who am I trying to kid). I think that I’m more excited about this trip than in 2000 because of my traveling companions.

My chaperones for this trip are:

DS – Jackson (6 when we go). Never been to WDW before but has seen plenty of pixs of all things Disney. Loves Woody, Buzz, Lightning McQueen, Mater and the usual cast of Disney characters

And

DD – Kerry (4 when we go). Never been to WDW before but has seen plenty of pixs of all things Disney. Loves Belle, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Jesse and the usual cast of Disney characters.

Our Disney Hideaway of Choice – POP Century

I chose POP because of how fun it looks and the fact that it has a pop fountain. The kids love playing in those. Plus when we were planning our May 2008 trip (Which has now become this trip), my fellow passporters gave POP the win on my poll. My kids like the fact that it has a kids waiting lounge and the very large Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head.

Like I said before, this was suppose to be our May 2008 trip but you know how that goes: Mom plans trip, renter decides to move out of rental house 6 months early, thethomasfam pays two mortgages for a few months, Christmas comes, etc. etc. etc. So our Disney money went to the rental house (Sure do hope that rental house enjoyed it’s trip – perhaps it rode the Tower of Terror) So anyway, I had to cancel the ressies-I hated to do that. I was so sad that I even stopped logging into the boards.

Then the new year came and I thought “I really would like to take Jackson and Kerry to WDW before Jackson starts Kindegarten in August” So I studied the finances, tried to win the Mega-Millions but it didn’t look as though we would be able to do it.

So I thought to myself again “Maybe we could leave after his last day of Kindegarten”. Well, looks like I might have hit on something. So in looking at the calendar, I have tentatively decided on June 10th – June 19th, 2009. (I might even add June 20th thanks to Mr. Bush slipping us that extra money this year)

Next up - The Tentative Plans . . .

[TheThomasFam]

The Tentative Plans . . .

First, we will be driving from North Carolina (close to Raleigh area) to WDW and (gasp) I’m going to try to do it in one day . The kids and I are very early risers so we should be able to get on the road pretty early.

I plan on getting the WDW dining package. I like the fact that I can pay for our meals up front. Plus I have two very active children who will probably have no patience with waiting for mommy to pay.

I am hoping that in the next month I can go ahead and my room-only ressies. This way I’ll have something to make payments towards (I’m really big about monthly budgeting and this way I can consider this a monthly expense). Once August comes and the new rates come out, I can change my ressie to a package.

As far as eating goes, here are the places I have chosen (This is tentative and will probably change 100 times before the 180 mark):

Donald's Breakfastosaurus (AK)
Flaming Tree BBQ (AK)
Goofy's Beach Club Breakfast (BC)
Cinderella's Gala Feast (GF)
Pizza Planet (MGM) (I’m not used to calling Hollywood Studios yet!)
Backlot Express (MGM)
Rose & Crown Dining Room (Epcot)
Le Cellier (Epcot)
The Crystal Palace (MK)
McDonalds at DTD
Trail's End Restaurant (FW)
Princess Storybook Character Dining (Epcot)
50s Prime Time Café (MGM)
The Plaza (MK)
Whispering Canyon Café (WL)
Nine Dragons (Epcot)

Other meals will be at the Everything POP Food Court.

Some tentative activities so far:

Albatross Treasure Cruise (YC)
Sandcastle Club (BC) – Mommy’s night out
Carriage Ride/Campfire/Nightly Movie at Fort Wilderness

So, there you have it. That’s what I have so far. Please feel free to make any suggestions (especially about the Cruises and the childcare places-I’m unsure as to which are the better ones).

Oh, and one thing I forgot to mention: The kids have no idea that I’m planning this trip!!! It hasn’t been hard to keep the secret because the trip is so far out but as it gets closer . . . I hope I don’t break!! The kids will have to get up early anyway to get ready for summer camp and daycare. What might confuse them is when I start driving in the opposite direction. I can’t wait to see their faces when I tell them that we’re on our way to WDW.

And as a side note, I would like to thank all my passporter friends for all their suggestions and comments about anything and everything Disney. I have really enjoyed being a member of the boards. I have to give a special thanks to MyRapunzal, Jillybean, and mestitch for their wonderful reports . They have really inspired me to write my first pre- trip report (which would be this one!)

Everybody have a great day!!

[Colexis Mom]

Great start Kim

[Section1Guy]

Nice job, that was fun. It's gonna be a longgggg time before the trip. I don't know how people do it.

That's why I plan on a trip no more than 5-6 months in advance. I'd die waiting a year!

[Lemap760]

Have fun planning your trip.

[disneygramma]

Great planning so far. Time will pass quickly. Our last big trip was Dec. 2006 our next big trip Dec. 2008 (yep 2 years in between (although we managed to sneak in a day of DTD on our way through Orlando going to Miami in July 2007. Have fun planning.

[KandJluvdisney]

great start so far
sorry you had to postpone las year's trip
I can relate to a long wait - I just made my room only deposit for jan 2009
can't wait to hear the rest of your plans
hurry back

[pparm]

Awesome! I wish I had done a surprise trip for my kids when they were younger!

Paula

[Tammie1966]

Great start Kim...all sounds wonderful. I am sure that the next year will pass quicker than you think, especially being a busy mother. Enjoy all the planning and re-planning.

[wdwlovers]

Sounds like an AWESOME trip!! When we started the countdown for our family vacation (this Aug) we had over 500 days to go. It was depressing, but now we are getting close to being under 200. Day by day it goes down.

[RobDVC]

Great plans so far!

[mcc0313]

Wonderful start....with all the planning and savings going on it will go fast....and keeping it a surprise is so great!

I wish I could have done that....instead of hearing the all familiar words "But how many days is 150?".....lol

Can't wait to hear more plans as they transpire...

[bsblady01]

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

[Grammy Grumpy]

Wonderful plans, even it's a long time to wait you'll be surprised on how quickly the time to "reveal" comes about!!

[Jookiba]

Other than death and taxes you can pretty much guarantee one more thing-time WILL pass. Sometimes as slow as a snail.....and other times it flies by (especially while AT Disney!).

I'm like you-I like to make a room-only ressie as far out as Disney will take it-and make monthly payments on it. It's the only way I'm affording the Polynesian for our trip that's 300+ days out (December 08). It makes a vacation affordable though.....and it's nice knowing once you DO get there, everything's paid for.

You do know that for the counter service places you've selected (like Flame Tree BBQ for one) you don't have to make a ressie for, right? My family loves Flame Tree-we make it a point to eat there at least twice per trip!

Keep coming back and reading things here......and check out Deb's website (allears.net)....that'll definitely help pass the time and before you know it you'll be on your way.

No worries about a gazillion changes either-I'm planning a spur of the moment solo trip and have completely redone my ADR's three times now, and changed resorts twice! It just eventually gets to a point where you say "okay, ENOUGH changes already" and leave everything be.