blestmom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2004
Links to posts:
Day 1 Saying goodbye is oh, so hard.
Day 2: Now Im a Believer
Day 3 Sneak peek!
Day 4: Will the chef hate me?
Day 5: I won! I won!
Day 6: Green vs. Orange
Day 7: Stop the music...please!
Day 8: Poor Andrew
Day 9: Then why did you order it?
Day 10: Yep, today I lost it. And caused a scene.
Day 11: Animal Kingdom Evening EMH...why did you have to leave?
Day 12: Ugh all these crowds! Lets go mini-golf!
Day 13: "Photography disaster and dining disappointment"
Day 14: A quick change in plans
Day 15: "A picture perfect day."
Day 16: Boo hoo the last day of our vacation.
Introduction:
Ah..the lure of the annual pass. Somehow I talked my hubby into thinking that the purchase of the pass actually saves us money. LOL! Our last trip was in November of 2011, so I had until the end of October this year to fit in another trip on the same annual pass.
But before going further, let me back up just a bit (okay, back up a LONG way) as to how this trip came to be, and why it is so very different than any other trip Ive taken to Disney.
My mom took us to Disney a few times in my childhood years. The blame (or credit, as I see it) rests squarely on her shoulders for getting me started in my Disney obsession. Funny thing once I had kids, she tried to tell me that there is more to see of the world than just Disney. Sorry Mom, too late.
She started way back in the 60's when WDW wasnt even around and my parents took us to Disneyland.
That's me in the middle with the baggy orange pants. In almost all my early childhood photos, I'm wearing those pants. Either my parents were more destitute than they let on, or I had a weird fetish with those pants. And I think maybe that's "Flower" from Bambi. Not sure though.
And no fancy hotels for us... no, we stayed at a nearby KOA campground in our lovely burnt orange pop-up camper.
A big thrill I remember was getting those variety cereal packs for breakfast... the kind where you pour the milk right in the plastic container. My parents didn't buy us fun cereal, except on vacation, so it was such a thrill to pick out Trix or Cocoa Puffs or whatever. Life WAS simpler back then. But I digress...
Fast forward a few years, to the lovely fashionable 70's, and my parents embarked on the long car journey from Minnesota to Disney World in Florida. I remember we always looked forward to Stuckey's gas stations because we could get Florida salt-water taffy there.
That's me in the middle again. Look at those bell-bottom pants. Those are truly horrendous. And they're plaid.... ew! Jan Brady had nothing on me.
My corporate brother would kill me if he knew I was posting these photos of him. I dont think he reads the DIS. At least, I hope not.
These trips continued through my high school years in various forms. Once I got to college, the trips pretty much stopped. Then I got married, and we had kids, and money for a Disney vacation was out of the question. Especially since I was a stay-at-home mom and we had 5 kids.
I so wanted to take my kids to Disney. So one winter, my two oldest boys (then ages 15 and 13) and I worked taking care of a lady's sled dog team up here in Alaska. It was a lot of work, especially at -30 degrees. But we earned enough money that my DH was willing to chip in the rest and let me take the kids on a very much desired Disney trip. So off we went. (One thing you'll notice... DH is not in these photos. He did not accompany us on our trips. He decided that he did not really like Disney trips, but he was more than happy to send us on our way. )
If you look, you will see 6 kids here. As if taking 5 kids to Disney alone wasnt challenging enough, we invited my sons' best friend to come with us.
Over the next few years, we took a few trips. (Keep an eye on the littlest dude...he plays a part in this trip report.)
(As a side note, you can see from their shirts that I have one son who is a Minnesota Vikings fan, and another who is a Green Bay Packers fan. Made for some fun Sunday afternoons at our house.)
But then the inevitable happened. My oldest started college and my second oldest got involved with high school sports. He simply could not miss the games and practices.
So our trip changed, from me and 5 kids, to me and 3 kids.
And then it happened again. My oldest daughter is a dancer, and felt she could not miss classes and a competition. So our trip changed again, from me and 3 kids, to me and 2 kids.
And then, my second oldest daughter (also a dancer) decided that she could not miss that many classes either.
So now, it is down to just me and my youngest son. And that's what this trip report is about. Our 2-week trip was from October 10-26, 2012. I wasn't sure what this vacation would be like. My son and I get along very well...
...but would he be bored with no siblings, just his mom, for 2 weeks in Disney?
With all that background history out of the way, on with the trip report!
CAST: (very small)
Me - Mom of 5, living in Alaska.
Andrew - 14.
DH did not go with us on our trip, but since he is the one who has paid for much of our fun, it's only fair that I at least acknowledge him here. Thanks, honey!
Day 1 Saying goodbye is oh, so hard.
Day 2: Now Im a Believer
Day 3 Sneak peek!
Day 4: Will the chef hate me?
Day 5: I won! I won!
Day 6: Green vs. Orange
Day 7: Stop the music...please!
Day 8: Poor Andrew
Day 9: Then why did you order it?
Day 10: Yep, today I lost it. And caused a scene.
Day 11: Animal Kingdom Evening EMH...why did you have to leave?
Day 12: Ugh all these crowds! Lets go mini-golf!
Day 13: "Photography disaster and dining disappointment"
Day 14: A quick change in plans
Day 15: "A picture perfect day."
Day 16: Boo hoo the last day of our vacation.
Introduction:
Ah..the lure of the annual pass. Somehow I talked my hubby into thinking that the purchase of the pass actually saves us money. LOL! Our last trip was in November of 2011, so I had until the end of October this year to fit in another trip on the same annual pass.
But before going further, let me back up just a bit (okay, back up a LONG way) as to how this trip came to be, and why it is so very different than any other trip Ive taken to Disney.
My mom took us to Disney a few times in my childhood years. The blame (or credit, as I see it) rests squarely on her shoulders for getting me started in my Disney obsession. Funny thing once I had kids, she tried to tell me that there is more to see of the world than just Disney. Sorry Mom, too late.
She started way back in the 60's when WDW wasnt even around and my parents took us to Disneyland.
That's me in the middle with the baggy orange pants. In almost all my early childhood photos, I'm wearing those pants. Either my parents were more destitute than they let on, or I had a weird fetish with those pants. And I think maybe that's "Flower" from Bambi. Not sure though.
And no fancy hotels for us... no, we stayed at a nearby KOA campground in our lovely burnt orange pop-up camper.
A big thrill I remember was getting those variety cereal packs for breakfast... the kind where you pour the milk right in the plastic container. My parents didn't buy us fun cereal, except on vacation, so it was such a thrill to pick out Trix or Cocoa Puffs or whatever. Life WAS simpler back then. But I digress...
Fast forward a few years, to the lovely fashionable 70's, and my parents embarked on the long car journey from Minnesota to Disney World in Florida. I remember we always looked forward to Stuckey's gas stations because we could get Florida salt-water taffy there.
That's me in the middle again. Look at those bell-bottom pants. Those are truly horrendous. And they're plaid.... ew! Jan Brady had nothing on me.
My corporate brother would kill me if he knew I was posting these photos of him. I dont think he reads the DIS. At least, I hope not.
These trips continued through my high school years in various forms. Once I got to college, the trips pretty much stopped. Then I got married, and we had kids, and money for a Disney vacation was out of the question. Especially since I was a stay-at-home mom and we had 5 kids.
I so wanted to take my kids to Disney. So one winter, my two oldest boys (then ages 15 and 13) and I worked taking care of a lady's sled dog team up here in Alaska. It was a lot of work, especially at -30 degrees. But we earned enough money that my DH was willing to chip in the rest and let me take the kids on a very much desired Disney trip. So off we went. (One thing you'll notice... DH is not in these photos. He did not accompany us on our trips. He decided that he did not really like Disney trips, but he was more than happy to send us on our way. )
If you look, you will see 6 kids here. As if taking 5 kids to Disney alone wasnt challenging enough, we invited my sons' best friend to come with us.
Over the next few years, we took a few trips. (Keep an eye on the littlest dude...he plays a part in this trip report.)
(As a side note, you can see from their shirts that I have one son who is a Minnesota Vikings fan, and another who is a Green Bay Packers fan. Made for some fun Sunday afternoons at our house.)
But then the inevitable happened. My oldest started college and my second oldest got involved with high school sports. He simply could not miss the games and practices.
So our trip changed, from me and 5 kids, to me and 3 kids.
And then it happened again. My oldest daughter is a dancer, and felt she could not miss classes and a competition. So our trip changed again, from me and 3 kids, to me and 2 kids.
And then, my second oldest daughter (also a dancer) decided that she could not miss that many classes either.
So now, it is down to just me and my youngest son. And that's what this trip report is about. Our 2-week trip was from October 10-26, 2012. I wasn't sure what this vacation would be like. My son and I get along very well...
...but would he be bored with no siblings, just his mom, for 2 weeks in Disney?
With all that background history out of the way, on with the trip report!
CAST: (very small)
Me - Mom of 5, living in Alaska.
Andrew - 14.
DH did not go with us on our trip, but since he is the one who has paid for much of our fun, it's only fair that I at least acknowledge him here. Thanks, honey!