Returning to our Happy Place: Pre-trip report - UPDATED 09/08 About This Page:

[emvenable77]

We are just at 6 months away from our trip to WDW so I decided it was time to start the Pre-trip report!
Hope you guys enjoy!

Who?:
DH (Scott) 46

My best friend. The best daddy to Abby. Loves spoiling DD and I. Loves hunting, fishing, camping and Disneyworld. This will be his 5th trip to our happy place.

DD (Abby) 5

My best friend and the best thing that ever happened to DH and I. She is a great kid who is always happy and smiling. She loves to talk about anything, tell stories, ask questions and have books read to her. She loves all things Disney (especially the princesses, Jessie and Lilo and Stitch), school, camping, her puppies and vacationing at the beach and WDW. This will be her 3rd trip to our happy place.

Me (Emily) 34

Love my family and all things Disney. Love being a mommy, wife and speech therapist- in that order (shhhh don’t tell DH ) Favorite vacation destinations: WDW, the beach, and cruising. This will be my 3rd trip to our Happy Place.

Where?:
Walt Disney World of course! Staying at the Pop Century (3rd time here) with Free Dining Offer and going to the MNSSHP for the first time!

When?:
September 18- 23, 2012

Why?
We love this time of the year at WDW. We went on our first family trip in August/September 2010 and the crowds were low and it was so enjoyable. Also DH and I have birthdays in October and I will be celebrating my 35th this year so what better way approach the downhill side of 30 than a trip to WDW.

Coming up:
The beginning plans.

[bsblady01]

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

[Shelley the Pooh]

Great introductions!

[Colexis Mom]

Great start Emily!

[Roxie2006]

Great intro Emily..

[buzzspal2]

Great start.Have a great trip.

[MayraLR]

Great start! Can't wait to read about your plans!

[num1DVCfan]

Beautiful family and great introductions! I can't wait to hear more!

[mommy4allkids]

Congratulations on a GREAT start. I can't wait to read more. We'll be at All-star Movies Set. 16-27th. Maybe we'll run into you guys. (We also were @ Pop for our first trip the end of August 2010 & again last Sept. in 2011. It's a small world after all)

[Cam22]

Great introductions, Emily!

[tinkerbell_3]

Hope you have a great time!

[nursemom]

Nice start! What a cute little one you have, love the shot with the Mickey bar!

[emvenable77]

Originally Posted by bsblady01

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

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Shelley the Pooh

Great introductions!

Thanks! More coming soon!

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Great start Emily!

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Roxie2006

Great intro Emily..

Thanks for following along.

Originally Posted by buzzspal2

Great start.Have a great trip.

Thanks so much!

Originally Posted by MayraLR

Great start! Can't wait to read about your plans!

Thanks! I hope to post more tomorrow!

Originally Posted by num1DVCfan

Beautiful family and great introductions! I can't wait to hear more!

Thank you! More coming tomorrow!

Originally Posted by mommy4allkids

Congratulations on a GREAT start. I can't wait to read more. We'll be at All-star Movies Set. 16-27th. Maybe we'll run into you guys. (We also were @ Pop for our first trip the end of August 2010 & again last Sept. in 2011. It's a small world after all)

WOW that is cool!! It is a small world after all! Later when I write out my plans for each day, let me know if you if we will be in any of the parks on the same days. Maybe we can try to get a meet up !

Originally Posted by Cam22

Great introductions, Emily!

Thanks for following Cam! Hope Stefanie is doing well tonight!

Originally Posted by tinkerbell_3

Hope you have a great time!

Thanks so much!

Originally Posted by nursemom

Nice start! What a cute little one you have, love the shot with the Mickey bar!

Thanks! That is one of my favorites too! It was so hot and those Mickey bars were sooo good that day!

[emvenable77]

Originally Posted by Roxie2006

Great intro Emily..

By the looks of your countdown our days at WDW may overlap. If so, let me know if it looks like our paths will cross. I would love to meet some fellow Louisianians while there!

[emvenable77]

I thought I would give you guys a little background as to how this trip came to be. We first were going to try to get to WDW in January of this year to celebrate DD’s 5th birthday but unfortunately DH was not able to get vacation approved. We were disappointed about it but like the saying goes, everything happens for a reason. By December of 2011, things were going very badly in my school district (think furlough days, cuts in benefits and layoff, plus my mileage check of $200.00 per month was being held because they had no money to pay it). Scott and I realized that I needed to make a change in my current employment. I got a job offer and accepted and began working 12/12/11. It was at this time that we realized it was a good thing that we had not reserved the trip for January.
　
We thought about it and decided that we would just skip this year and go the next but the more I thought about it the more I realized that I just had to figure out a way to get back to WDW this year. I begged Scott to go back at the end of May again but he stood firm that he did not want to go back at that time because last year it was too busy. I understood and agreed with him. So we began to talk of a fall trip, possibly in September or October. Not long after, we got a PIN code for September. We were so excited so we decided to go ahead and book it. We went to WDW in August/September 2010 and really enjoyed it. The crowds were so tolerable. We also realized that we would be able to make it to the MNSSHP. Later I realized that we could “celebrate” my 35th birthday. My birthday is actually on Halloween but since it was going to be a “big” birthday, I thought it would be fun to celebrate it here.
So our dates were set for September 17-23, 2012. We were still hoping for free dining since we have always gone during free dining promos but we would have to wait a bit to see if Disney would come through for us. I was being told that it would probably be around April when/if Disney would be announcing the Free dining promotion. I was happily surprised a few weeks ago when I got on the boards and saw someone posted that Free Dining was being offered that day for Disney Visa card holders. I quickly got on the phone but the CM told me that all she had was All Star Sports. I decided to wait and cross my fingers that on the following Monday, Pop would open up. On the Monday morning, I called but again no Pop. I decided that I would still wait as we really wanted to stay at Pop (it is familiar to us and we love it there). The next day I called again and Pop was available! I quickly changed the reservation from the PIN code ressie to the Free Dining Promo ressie. With the dates and free dining finally secured all we had to do next was decide how we would get there and where we wanted to eat.

Up Next:
Driving or Flying?