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

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

Well, I’m one month away from our trip, so what better way to celebrate than to start my pre-trip report? This will be my third trip since January 2007. This is very unusual for me; my last trip before that one was May 2001!

In order to explain the title of this report, I have to tell you a little about my Nana. She was 89 years old, independent, still living alone and refusing to go into a retirement community. Nana was in pretty good health for a woman her age who smoked most of her adult life. She lived in Vermont, so I didn’t see her very often growing up, since my dad was in the military and we moved around quite a bit. Nana didn’t like to fly, so we would make the trip to her house for Easter or Christmas every few years. Occasionally, we would go out during the summer and spend a week at a cottage on the lake.

Nana was very special to our family. In fact, my daughter, Rose, wrote letters to Nana since the time she learned to hold a crayon. Last February, Nana passed away. Her death was due to a freak accident, so it was very unexpected and we were all very sad.

Fast forward to Christmas Eve 2007. After we had eaten our traditional fondue and opened our presents, my dad gave all of the assembled grandchildren and great-grandchildren plain white envelopes. Inside were monetary gifts from Nana’s estate. We were instructed not to use this money to pay the credit card bill or car payment. It was to be used for something special. My husband looked at me and said, “Disney World.”

Now, this money certainly wasn’t going to pay for an entire WDW trip, but combined with a Christmas bonus my husband received and hadn’t expected, it would certainly give us a headstart. Could we have used the money for other things? Absolutely. Home improvements? Down payment on a new car for DH? Sure. But once my DH said WDW, there was no going back! Thanks, Nana!


Up next, the cast and crew.

[emtpej]

I'm sorry for your loss.
But that was very nice to be remembered like that by Nana!
I can't think of anything more special than that!
Enjoy!

[Colexis Mom]

I'm sorry about your Nana Great start so far

[PrincessSharon]

Sorry for your loss, but how wonderful that you'll have such a magical way to remember your Nana. Looking forward to more, Beth.

[BelmontBelle]

Sorry you lost your Nana, she sounds like a special lady. I'm glad you get to spend the money she left you on something that is really special to you and your whole family! Can't wait for the details.

[disneydani]

I am sure Nana will be watching you all with a great big smile on her face.

danielle

[Jookiba]

I am very sorry to hear of your loss. You will be honoring her by using the $$ she gave you as she intended-to have a grand time @ WDW!!

Sure, we could all use the $$ we spend at Disney for car payments, credit card bills, mortgage/rent payments, etc. Life is too short to be all work and no play.

I can't wait to hear all about your plans-I hope you hurry back with more!!

[DawnDenise]

I'm sorry about Nana but I know she will be smiling as she watches your family have a spectacular trip to WDW! Looking forward to more!

[Jillybean]

This is exactly what your Nana intended the money for!

Jill

[bsblady01]

more please

[sassymom]

That is such a sweet and touching story. I'm sure she will be smiling down on you during your trip. What a great way to make lasting memories of her legacy. We just returned from my DH's grandmother's funeral this afternoon, so of course it made me cry.

[shellybelly72]

I'm sorry for your loss...

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

Thanks to everyone who responded; thanks for joining me! I'll be back with more tomorrow.

Originally Posted by Jookiba

Sure, we could all use the $$ we spend at Disney for car payments, credit card bills, mortgage/rent payments, etc. Life is too short to be all work and no play.

I love this. That is so true, and I hadn't thought about it that way before!

Originally Posted by sassymom

That is such a sweet and touching story. I'm sure she will be smiling down on you during your trip. What a great way to make lasting memories of her legacy. We just returned from my DH's grandmother's funeral this afternoon, so of course it made me cry.

So sorry for your loss. Didn't mean to make you cry.

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

For the first time ever, we are taking our four children to WDW all by ourselves. On our last trip, the in-laws not only came on the trip, but they paid for it as well. We stayed in a two-bedroom villa at the Beach Club. It was very handy to have them along! Just having a couple of extra pairs of hands and eyes helped a lot! We would have wanted them to come along this time, too, but they already had two trips planned in the spring, so they couldn’t make it. However, that means we have another Disney trip in our future, as they’ve been wanting to return ever since we got back from our last trip. We may even book our next trip while we’re there, if they’ve got a good bounceback offer!

Back to the cast: first of all, there’s me, Beth.


I am 38 years old, a former public school music teacher, current homeschooling stay at home mom. I have an older sister and two younger brothers, and my parents live down the street. In addition to my love of all things Disney, I enjoy scrapbooking, reading, biking, swimming, movies and hanging out with my family. I have been to Disney World five times: in 1980, 1986, 2001 and twice in 2007. This picture was taken on my last trip, which I took with my best friend, without children. It was our first day at the Magic Kingdom, and I just loved how the whole place was decorated for fall!


Our family trip report is here:
Trip Report

My moms-only trip report can be found here: Trip Report

I also spent one day at Disneyland in 1999. I am most looking forward to taking my daughters for their first ride on Splash Mountain. I have been married for almost 15 years to:


Rick. He is 42 years old, and works very hard as a supplier to the Ford Motor Company. His job requires him to travel all over the world; in fact, he’s in Japan right now. He has an older sister and an older brother, and is very close to his parents, who live in the same town as we do. His hobbies include barbershop harmony, guitars and old cars. This will be his third trip to Disney World, having joined me in 2001 and one of the 2007 trips. He described our last WDW trip as “the best vacation I’ve ever been on.” He is disappointed that we won’t be able to ride Rock n Roller Coaster together this trip, because we really enjoyed it last time!

Our oldest, Christian, will be 13 in June.

He’s our special kid. He has cerebral palsy due to birth trauma, and is completely dependent and non-verbal. He communicates with his big, beautiful smile. He has a feeding tube and various other medical issues. He has had several major surgeries, including spinal surgery on Halloween 2007. He goes to a local school for special needs children. He has inherited his father’s love of all things barbershop. We've taken him to the barbershop harmony society's international convention twice so far, and he has made friends with many of the top quartets, and been featured in the society's magazine three times! and also enjoys all Pixar movies (except maybe A Bug’s Life), Blue’s Clues and taking communion at church. His favorite part of a WDW trip is the characters; I’m sure he’s looking forward to meeting as many as possible.

Our oldest daughter is Rose.

She’s 8 years old, and a really great helper to me. She has always had a special relationship with her brother, and is very compassionate towards him. She likes Hannah Montana, High School Musical and Webkinz. She’s very artistic, loves to sing and is taking piano lessons. She was afraid of some strange attractions last trip (Buzz Lightyear and Philharmagic just to name two!) and is determined to go on Splash Mountain this time. She loves the princesses, and probably is most looking forward to our second annual Pirate & Princess Party!

Grace is 6 years old.

She is our “nature girl.” She loves animals, sand, rain, puddles, dirt, grass…and wearing a dress. Every day. Yes, she’s really one of a kind. She wants to be just like her big sister in every way, so she likes HM, HSM and Webkinz, too. Her favorite princess changes often, and right now it’s Giselle. She really wants the Giselle dress from the Disney store, so I’m waiting for the price to come down from $50 so I can get it for her to wear to the P & P Party. She also refused to go on certain rides last year (Dumbo!) and promises to give BTMRR another try after I convinced her to go on it without really telling her what it was!

Our youngest is Kate.

While this photo may not show her face, it really shows who she is. She is 2 1/2 years old and loves Winnie the Pooh. Her favorite part of WDW was definitely meeting the characters, which came as a pleasant surprise to us, since Rose wouldn't go near them when she was that age. Kate is very verbal, very expressive, very funny (and a little spoiled!) She is a delight and we are so blessed to have her as a part of our family.

Thanks for joining me so far; I'll be back with more about the actual trip!

[Starla4436]

What a great start...i look forward to reading the TR.