"I Hope you have the time of your life" pre-trip report About This Page:

[Northwoods4]

Pre-trip report
Dates: 04/20/08 through 04/26/08
Accommodations: Fort Wilderness Cabin
Cast of Characters: Renee (trip reporter), Chad (DH), Sam (DD1), Katie (DD2), Linda (DM, and Barry (DSD)
Experience: 2 regular visitors, 2 occasional visitors, and 2 newbies.

Introduction:
Hello !!! I am a fairly new member to these boards, and I tend to do more reading than posting. This is my first trip report ever. I have taken trips in my life and look back at the pictures and say, "oh, I remember that". Well, after receiving some trip planning materials for my upcoming trip to WDW in April 2008, I started doing a lot of reading on-line and came across Trip Reports; on this site and on others. It was definitely an "Ah-ha" moment. Why didn’t I think of that before?? Someday, when I’m old and gray and maybe unable to travel anymore, I want to be able to remember these times…every little detail ;-).

The name of the report "I hope you have the time of your life" comes from one of DD1's favorite songs. I truly do hope they have the time of their life obn this trip. I hope it is something they tell their kids about when they are older. My kids are the most wonderful people in my life and I am truly blessed to be a part of their lives. I can't wait to have this experience with them.

This will be my first trip to Disney World since 1996, and the first trip for my 2 girls. It seems like so long ago that I was there, that I feel like I have never been there either. Plus, I was a lot younger then and my mom did all the planning. This whole experience will be a new one for me. But I digress…

First, I will start with introducing the cast of characters for this trip. I will work from oldest (sorry Mom) to youngest.

My Mom (DM) (eternally 29, or so she says) – loves Disney World and has taken many trips over the years. I don’t know the exact number, but I would guess somewhere between 8-12 trips over the past 20 years. She’s a very hard worker who worked 7 days a week for 5 years to put my sister through college and continued on after she graduated to help pay for this trip to Disney. Mom had a hard time growing up, so she really tries to make things nice for her family, especially my daughters. In other words, she spoils them rotten. I had to be somewhat forceful in getting mom to let me pay our fair share of the trip costs.

My step-dad (DSD) (50 something) – also loves Disney. He and my mom have been married for about 5 years, so I am not sure how many times he has been to Disney. DSD is a very funny guy. He always makes us laugh. The interesting thing about DSD is he is afraid of a lot of things. Not in a phobic way, but he just "doesn’t like" things such as snakes, bees, needles, and ….. WATER. (More on this later)

Me (35) – I’m a full-time working mom. I lead your typical suburban American life. Commuting to work, shuttling the kids to soccer, trying to do it all. As stated above, I haven’t been to Disney since 1996. My mom has wanted to take the girls to Disney for years, (and so have I) but things just kept coming up. The turning point came when I realized that this is my oldest daughter’s last year of elementary school, and after this year, it would be harder to have her miss school for a trip. I am really looking forward to being able to experience WDW through my kids, which will be a whole new experience than the last time I went. I get misty eyed at the commercial that shows the family at WDW, where the mom and daughter walk by a mirror, and the mom is reflected as a little girl also. One of the things I will probably have to keep in my bag is a pack of Kleenex. I have a feeling there will be many misty-eyed moments to come. I tend to be a perfectionist, so I agonize over a lot of the details and wanting everything to go well. I am getting better at just living in the moment, not sweating the small stuff...you know all the sayings. I am committed to RELAX and enjoy my time and not try to micro-manage everything.

DH (37) – We’ve been together for 14 years this August. We have been to Disney 2 times together (both pre-kids). He is not a "Disney-lover" per se. He is the type that says "when are we leaving?", and "did you pack my clothes?" and just shows up where he’s supposed to. He just doesn’t get into all the planning. That’s probably a good thing…we don’t need two overly zealous planners on this mission. LOL None the less, he loved our last trips to WDW and is also looking forward to experiencing this with our kids. The 20 hour trip in the car to get there….Not so much (more on this later).

DD1 – Sam (11) – Lover of horses (and all animals for that matter). Wishes we had time to stay for a few days in Kentucky on the way down so we can drive around and look at all the horse farms..LOL. She’s never been to Disney, but I’ve shown her pictures of my past trips, let her look through my planning books, and she’s watched the trip planning DVD. She is most looking forward to Animal Kingdom and Sea World.
She’s my tween…some days she’s my sweet little girl, other days….w-e-l-l….She’s growing up too fast that’s for sure. I am looking forward to spending this family time with her, before she gets too cool to hang out with me anymore. She’s so bright and free spirited. She will bring a lot of fun and laughter to this trip.

DD2 – KT (6) – our resident dreamer. Always has her head in the clouds. She’s a very bright and articulate little girl, and she has this knack of making statements and observations that just leave you with your mouth hanging open. I can’t wait to hear the things she will say while at WDW! My step-dad says she’s our ticket to Cinderella’s castle. He says "Once the dream squad looks at her, we’ll be spending the night in the castle, for sure." She also is looking forward to Animal Kingdom and Sea World the most.

Now that you’ve met us all, I’ll get to our trip details. As shown above, we will be staying at WDW from 04/20/08 to 04/26/08. We are staying at the Fort Wilderness campground in one of the cabins. Neither my mom, nor I have stayed here before. We chose the cabin, as we could all stay together, have kitchen facilities, be able to have a trail ride for my oldest daughter, and have a nice quiet "home" to return to each evening. Also, since we are driving down, it will be nice to be able to drive right up to our cabin when we return from the parks.

We all live in the greater-Milwaukee area. We will be leaving on our trip on Saturday morning, 04/19/08. We plan on hitting the road at about 5:30 am so that we can get around Chicago before the heaviest traffic hits. Our plan, God willing, is to get to Chattanooga, TN our first day. We will sleep over, then finish our journey the next day. We hope to be at Ft. Wilderness (FTW) by 3-4:00 pm Sunday. We have to be there no later than 6:00 pm to pick up our golf cart.

DM and DSD rented a mini-van for their journey. DH, the kids and I also rented a car. We don’t know exactly what model we are getting, but it is the "premium class" which will be either a Charger or an Impala. We can put some things in mom’s van if we need to, so we should have plenty of room. I like both the Charger and the Impala, (I have driven them before on business.) I used my AAA discount and saved 10% off the cost of the rental, so that helped a little.

There are many reasons we decided to drive. Mostly being the cost to fly 6 people, plus, we would have had to rent a car when we got to Orlando anyway, as we are going to Sea World one day, and Clearwater Beach another day. Secondly we enjoy getting out and seeing the different places we will be going through. Who knows if we will ever vacation to Kentucky or Tennessee, but at least we can say we’ve been through and have "seen" them. Also, in recent days, with all the planes being grounded and delayed flights, I am VERY glad we decided to drive. I am sure it will have its challenges, but I think everyone needs to experience a good road trip at least once. DH is a little leery of 20 hours in the car with the kids, but I’ve packed my "bag of tricks" with all kinds of diversionary tactics. They each have a DVD player, and my oldest has her beloved iPod shuffle (a gift from grandma for the trip).

Anyway, back to our plans. If everything goes as planned, we will arrive at FTW at about 4-5pm on Sunday. We plan on picking up our golf cart and settling in at the cabin. About 6:30 or so, we will head over to Trails End for supper, then we will cruise down to the campfire for the nightly movie / s’mores. After the movie we’ll head to bed and get ready for our first day.

Here is our daily itinerary. We purchased 4 day park hopper passes (no water park option). We chose a 4 day because there are times when we will be doing "non-Disney" things (I know....GASP!) Obviously, our plans can change based on weather, level of energy, etc. I’ve been keeping an eye on the extended forecast for Orlando on Accuweather.com, and so far, our weather forecast looks great!

Based on other trip reports I’ve read, I feel like kind of an odd-ball..LOL. We do not focus on eating at a lot of certain places. I really love reading about other traveler’s meals and experiences at the WDW restaurants, but getting a lot of ADR’s just isn’t our thing. Also, we have a very loose itinerary to allow for taking our time, and enjoying ourselves. We aren’t even going to go to all of the parks (no water park or DHS).

Monday (4/21/08)
Sea World! My girls are dying to go to Sea World. They love all animals as mentioned above, but are especially fond of Penguins and Sea Turtles. Plus, we thought it would be a nice way to ease into the theme park experience. The most my girls have ever been to is the state fair, so they have never experienced anything like WDW or Sea World. On this day, we will eat breakfast at the cabin before heading out, and also pack a lunch to take with. For dinner, we plan on cooking out at the cabin. My DSD is a fabulous BBQ’er. Depending on what time we get back from SW, we will head to the pool either before or after dinner. Then, we’ll head to bed early...tomorrow’s a big day!

Tuesday (04/22/08)
Magic Kingdom!! Here we come Mickey!
Again, breakfast will be at the cabin. For lunch and dinner, we will grab counter service at either Pecos Bill’s or Cosmic Ray’s. We plan on staying for the morning and early afternoon. Then, we’ll go back to FTW for an early-afternoon break. The we’ll head back to MK for the rest of the afternoon and evening. We want the girls to be able to see at least Spectromagic and maybe even Wishes. DH won’t leave without his ice cream cookie sandwich from MS Bakery and I MUST have my Dole Whip. I am a pineapple fanatic!!! I am looking forward to this day the most (and not just because of the Dole Whips)!!

Wednesday (04/23/08) Happy Earth Day!
Clearwater Beach
Today, we have our one and only ADR. We have a 7:35 am ADR at O’hana’s Character Breakfast at the Polynesian. I’ve always wanted to see this resort, and I thought that they way they serve the meal sounds fun. Once we finish with breakfast, we’re heading to Clearwater beach for the day. You can’t come all the way to FL and not see the ocean, right ???? My kids have never seen the ocean or walked on a warm sandy beach, so they’re going to get that chance. They can’t wait to look for shells, dig in the sand, and DD1 is 99% positive she’s going to find a hermit crab...LOL. We plan on getting to the beach area by 10:30 or so, then staying at the beach a few hours. We’ll pack a cooler with snacks and drinks to bring with us.

DM and DSD insist that we grab a late lunch / early dinner at Crabby Joes on the way back to our resort. Depending on when we get back, and our energy level, we may head to Epcot for a little while. If we don’t feel up to it, we’ll relax at FTW , take in the campfire and explore the resort.

Thursday (4/24/08)
Akuna Matata! Animal Kingdom
Breakfast will be at the cabin, then we’ll head to Animal Kingdom for the day. We plan on being there in time for park opening. My kids are looking forward to this day the most. Not just because they love animals so much, but because of a little inside joke we’re going to play on DSD. As I mentioned before, he doesn’t like water, well, deep water that is. We are taking him on Kali River Rapids (which he has never been to) and we’re going to "hype" up the ride. While waiting in the queue, my mom and I will be talking back and forth..."Did you bring your ponchos?"..."Yes, did you bring DD2's water wings?...just in case? "Yes, and I have a change of clothes back in the locker"

We can almost tell you DSD’s reaction...First his eyes will get big and then he will say "Just in case of what??? And what do you need extra clothes for?? Oh no, I ain’t going on this thing!!!" (But he will). We are hoping that DSD gets the seat that goes backwards down the drop so he doesn’t see the wave of water coming at him.!! LOL...Seriously though, I know this sounds kind of mean, but we joke around all the time about his "fears". I don’t think he really is that afraid...He just carries on because he knows it makes us laugh.

Anyway, back to our plan for the day. We plan on having counter service lunch at Flame Tree BBQ. We’ll spend most of the day here, then head back to FTW. Dinner will be something at the cabin. Then we’ll let the kids do some swimming while we do laundry. After that, we’re heading down to Bay Lake to watch the Electric Water Pageant.

Friday (04/25/08)

Free Day!! (and last full day....*sniff)
This is the day we have set aside to do whatever we want. Breakfast will be at the cabin. DD1 and DH will be heading out on a trail ride at FTW while I take DD2 on a pony ride. My DM and DSD are heading to DTD for shopping. Then, the rest is open and flexible. DH, the kids and I are leaning towards hanging out at the resort until about 2. Then, we’ll head over to Epcot and spend the rest of the day / evening there. We’ll end the night by watching Illuminations. The one place we WONT be going is Magic Kingdom because it is Grad Night. No thanks!! However, if the kids decide that they want to go back to Animal Kingdom, then that is where we will be. We’ll grab counter service for dinner again.

If we don’t go to Epcot, we’ll head down for one last campfire and movie with Chip n’ Dale.

Saturday (04/26/08)

Good-bye, Farewell, until we meet again!
Heading home today. We’ll get up and load up the cars, then head to Trails End for a good-bye breakfast. Then begins the long, sad journey home

Well, this is getting quite long, so I will wrap up this pre-trip report. I hope you have made it this far! LOL. We will be in trip planning over-drive the next week. I know that the time will fly by and the time in WDW will go even faster. Wish us luck on our travels, and thank you for reading!!

[RobDVC]

Thanks for deciding to write a trip report, Renee!
Those are terrific plans! Your trip sounds like it will be very relaxing and I'm sure the girls are going to have a great time. The one thing I noticed is that you are buying parkhopper passes, but I didn't see you mention doing any hopping between parks on any day, so you may want to save some money and just buy base tickets.

[MickeyMAC]

Glad you decided to write a trip report. Hope your trip is awesome. Your girls will love Sea World. Please try to get to Epcot and experience Soarin' your girls will really like it. Have fun and enjoy all the wonderful moments with your family.

[disney_duke]

Hello, fellow Wisconsinite!! Actually, I'm in suburban Milwaukee too. (humming tune - "it's a small world after all...") Fantastic pre trip report already. Sounds like you really know your stuff. This past May, we did 4 days at WDW and 1 day at Sea World with my in-laws tagging along as well. We had a great time. Let us know if you have any questions, but I think you've probably got it all figured out already!!!

[wayneava81]

Sounds like a great trip! Have fun!

[DyanKJ130]

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

[B.M.]

Sounds like you have some great plans! Can't wait to hear how it all turns out, I am sure you guys will have a magical time!

[Lemap760]

All your plans look wonderful. Thanks for deciding to write a trip report and sharing the experience with us.

[bsblady01]

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

[janicelovesmickey]

great pre-trip report, have a safe journey. and have fun

[BlueCinderellaEyes]

What a wonderful start! Looking forward to reading how everything went when you get back!

[Colexis Mom]

Great start Renee I hope you guys have a magical time