Thanks, Nana! Our 2008 Walt Disney World pre-trip report - COMPLETE 5/5 About This Page:

[emtpej]

Originally Posted by mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince

...my brother and his family to some of our reservations, now that he is home from Iraq for good!

That is good to hear!

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

Originally Posted by emtpej

That is good to hear!

Thank you so much. He was there for 15 months; we are so glad to have him home. I talked to him last week, and he said it feels so strange to be home, it's like it's not real. I can't wait to see him at Disney World!

[RobDVC]

Your plans look great!
Sorry you had to change them around to fit in P&PP.

[mattnkatsmum]

Fabulous plans! I'm just sorry that our paths won't cross this trip.

Good old Nana!

[BelmontBelle]

Your plans and your ADR's look fantastic! I hope you get to the big change soon, I'm leaving in 2 days and I'd sure like to know!

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

One important thing that you need to know about me is that I am a practical girl. My family has learned that if they are going to buy me a gift, they should make it something I can use. Don’t get me something that will sit around and collect dust. When DH asked me what I wanted for our anniversary last summer, I told him I wanted a scrapbooking tool. His response was, “That’s not very romantic, but if that’s what you want…” I got my cricut and I use it all the time!

Probably the second thing you need to know is that I like to surprise people. I’m not a great big fan of being surprised, but I do love to see the look on my loved ones’ faces when they see the surprise that I planned for them. I surprised my DH with a party on his 40th birthday, and he had no idea it was coming, although he was home all day and the party was in our basement! I also took him on a surprise cruise one year. I told him what dates to take off work and what to pack, but that’s all he knew until we got to the docks to get on the boat!

I mention these two things because what happened next in the planning of our trip is not like me at all (at least the first part). I had been planning for weeks, obsessing, really, every waking moment, and apparently, the sleeping moments, too. I had been having Disney dreams almost every night. Nothing I could really remember, except on one particular morning. On February 12, I woke up from a dream about the Boardwalk. About us. Checking into the Boardwalk. This was very strange, because I had no interest in the Boardwalk. I’d seen it from across the water when we stayed at the Beach Club. I’d seen pictures of the place, and I have to say that the clown at the pool really freaked me out. However, one thing about this dream stuck with me. The Boardwalk is a deluxe resort. While I'm not usually the kind of girl who "listens" to dreams, I immediately went online and asked my fellow Disney-nuts if the cost of an upgrade is worth the money.

I will pause here to mention that I’d been thinking a lot about transportation since we booked POR. As you know, my son is in a wheelchair. At POR, the only transportation option is the bus. This would mean at least two round-trip bus rides per day, if you include the planned break back at the resort. To get a wheelchair on a bus, as you may have seen, the bus driver has to put the chair on a lift, operate the lift, and use tie-downs to attach the chair to the bus. It’s a lot of work for the bus driver, and can take a while if the bus driver doesn’t know what he is doing. We’ve had plenty of experience with bus drivers who didn’t know what they were doing; not as Disney, but other places. In Denver last year, the barbershop convention was not within walking distance of our hotel, and we didn’t have a vehicle (they are very expensive to rent!) so we relied on bus transportation. It was the biggest nightmare! Buses didn’t show, and when they did, the driver didn’t know how to operate the lift…it was horrendous.

Now, on our last family trip, we had taken the bus to AK and back with no problem. DH and DFIL had taken Christian to MK and back with no problem. Since we were at the Beach Club Villas, we spent a lot of time at Epcot, so these were the only two times Christian used the bus. My DH remembered these two jaunts on the bus in a positive light, as he should, because they were great. But as I thought about our itinerary, with breaks every day, I was having a lot of anxiety about the transportation issue. Once I started thinking about being able to use other modes of transportation (like at most deluxe resorts), I was able to think about how much fun we were going to have and not so much about how we were going to get from place to place. My DH had been concerned about how difficult this trip was going to be without his folks along; I figured that solving the transportation issue would make things a little easier for everyone.

So, after having talked myself into at least checking out the cost of a deluxe resort (with encouragement from some of my enablers…I mean, friends), I hopped right on the Disney website. I checked all the deluxes out, just to get an idea about price. Then I compared the MK resorts with the Epcot resorts, not by amenity or price, but by how many times we’d have to take the bus during our 7 day trip. The Magic Kingdom resorts were the winner of this challenge, although the Epcot resorts were coming up a bit less expensive than the ones at the MK.

Now you may be wondering about the whole cost issue. The difference between a moderate and a deluxe resort, in case you’ve never priced it out, is significant. But we usually get a nice tax refund, and while I hadn’t actually done the taxes yet, I would be doing them soon, and we could use some of that money to make up the difference. I decided that if I were to go for an upgrade, I would keep it to myself until we got to Disney World. I hadn’t yet figured out how I would spring this surprise on my unsuspecting family, but I knew the words “Happy Anniversary, honey!” would figure in there somewhere. You see, we will be married 15 years this June. I think I had just figured out what we would be doing to celebrate…

Which MK resort would I choose? Come back tomorrow to find out!

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

Originally Posted by disney_duke

I can't believe I just stumbled upon this now... good thing I haven't missed too much! A - the kids are adorable. Too cute!! B - good score on all of your ADR's, it's a stellar line-up! C - totally hooked by the title. My Nana was also a very special lady to us. She did the same thing and left the 3 of us kids (we're the only kids in the family, my brothers and I have no cousins) a nice chunk of change. One brother and I used it for our first cars, but I don't remember what my other brother used it for. It was frivilous (sp?) spending and totally worth it! Looks like you have an amazing vacation coming your way!
What is this big change?????

Thanks so much for your kind words. I am glad you found the report; there's still a lot to come (have to fill up the next 25 days!)

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Great plans

Originally Posted by DawnDenise

Looks like some great ADRs!! You definitely got some of my favorites!! Looking forward to hearing baout the next change!

Originally Posted by disneydani

The plans look great, glad you were able to make good use of the extra TS credits.

danielle

Originally Posted by Grammy Grumpy

Just caught up with your Pre-trip. The reason behind the trip is so heartwarming. Your plans sound awesome and I know you'll love all the places you have ADRs for your meals.

Can't wait to hear more.

Originally Posted by RobDVC

Your plans look great!
Sorry you had to change them around to fit in P&PP.

So many wonderful responses; thanks everyone, for reading and for commenting. I love being a Passporter!

[Colexis Mom]

Can't wait to hear what resort you chose

[Jookiba]

Ummmm, I'm probably wrong, but is the monorail-loop resort maybe included in your signature somewhere?!

I just wish the price jump from moderate to deluxe wasn't so high! You'd think the plumbing fixtures were made out of gold and you got 5-star treatment (up to and including free room service) with the prices Disney charges. With us addicts though, where there's a will there's a way, right?

Holding my breath till the next update.......

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

Originally Posted by Jookiba

Ummmm, I'm probably wrong, but is the monorail-loop resort maybe included in your signature somewhere?!

Hey, no fair peeking!

I was actually just taking it out...

[pamcarey]

Oohhh, that's so exciting! I can't wait to find out which resort! I think you've made a great decision to make the transportation easier on yourselves.

[tndisneyfam]

Oh the suspense is killing me!!!!!!!! I have a guess of which resort it will be!

I am so glad your brother is home for good! Please thank him for us for his service!

I love those Disney episodes of Full House!!!!!!! Roseanne and crew went there too!

Can't wait for more!!!!!

[CountryTink]

Oh yeah! Another TR by Beth. I really enjoyed your mom's only TR and am looking forward to reading your other TR and this one. Hurry back with more please.

[chezp]

I just read your report from start to finish and what a magical trip you've got coming up - I'm sorry to hear of your loss, but I'm sure Nana would approve of the trip.

Now I can't wait to hear which resort you're going for!