Baby and the Tramp...and a Pop (half) Century! Where Did It Go???

[BrooklynnsMommy]

Okay it is official we go to Disney World NEXT MONTH!!!!!!

So now I can begin my pre-trip report without feeling like I am still too far out for it to really matter.

Let me begin by explaining how this particular trip came about:

I went to Disney World a few times as a child. We stayed at my Grandmother’s in St. Petersburg and just drove to Orlando for the day. We went to Epcot when I was 12 and then no more Florida because my grandmother moved back to Tennessee. Fast forward 9 years, I am now 21 and engaged. My wonderful fiancé tells me I can pick anywhere to go for our honeymoon. I tell him Disney World! So at 22 years old I return to Disney. This time we are staying on property (Port Orleans Riverside) and we are on the dining plan (food, food, and more food). I loved every minute of my week there and could not wait to return.

Fast forward a year and a half later, my mom calls and says she wants to go on vacation (we had not gone on a family vacation since the trip to Epcot when I was 12). She said she works too hard and needs to feel like she gets a small reward every now and then.

She says “Let’s go to the beach.”

I say “The beach?” because I have never been a let’s go lay out in the sun kinda girl.

“Yes. Let’s go to Destin. It isn’t that far. Check on hotel rooms and see how much it will cost.” (This is back when my mother knew nothing of the Disboards and therefore was computer illiterate except for checking her e-mail.)

I did some checking on rooms in Destin and Gulf Shores. I get prices together and then because I know that down deep my mom has a love for Disney that she needs to be reminded of, I get prices for the four of us (me, my mom, and my 2 brothers) for the same amount of time we were planning on going to the beach. I call her and tell her the price for the beach and then I tell her I found an even better deal that would include our hotel and all of our entertainment. She asks the price and I tell her. She says that is doable where would we be staying. That’s when I get all excited and started telling her of all the fun and the memories.

“It’s Disney World!!!!! We can stay at a value resort and go to all the parks. We could drive down there, park the car, and not touch it again until time to leave.”

She didn’t believe the price I quoted was for all four of us for a hotel and 5 day park hoppers. She knew it would be more expensive. So I walked her through how to do it on her computer and the price popped up. After a few moments of hesitation and disbelief she told me to book it.

We were on our way!!!!!

Well we had such a great time in July of ’05 that we decided to make it an annual trip. You will notice in my signature that there was not a July ’06 trip however. That is because I had to skip that trip because my doctor did not think it would be wise to sit in a car 10 hours to walk around for miles in the hot sun eight months pregnant. So last year my mom went to Disney without me so she could buy her first grandchild presents from the official Disney World.

So here we are June 1, 2007, we are 52 days away from our Blowout trip. The whole family is going for 10 whole days of Disney fun. We are celebrating my mom’s 50th birthday and Brooklynn’s first birthday while we are there.

 

[prncssmel]

How exciting - your daughter's first trip to WDW! And her first birthday there! Are you going to a special meal to celebrate her birthday?

 

[snowbell]

Great Trip report so far. I wish my Mom was as excited as yours. I took her in Feb 06 and she said... ok-- don't need to do it again.

 

[MeMom]

Actually, I've heard through the grapevine that your mom is excited out of her mind!!! I've heard that she is on the Disboards every day, that she has the days, hours, and minutes on a ticker somewhere, that she grins like an idiot at the mention of the Disney trip, and that she gets tears in her eyes just picturing herself waving at you and Brooklynn as you ride around and around in circles on Dumbo for the first time. I am looking forward to reading your trip report, and more than that, I am looking forward to being IN the trip report! Not in the pictures, mind you, but just in the report. We're going to Disney World next month! Better go start packing. Oh wait, I already have started packing!!! As the boys would say, "You have issues. Serious issues."

Updated March 2008 to show where each trip starts.

Page 10 - A Not So Disney Day
Page 21 - Summer Trip - Arriving at Pop, Whispering Canyon, Magic Kingdom
Page 45 - Jill's October Birthday/MNSSHP Trip
Page 55 - Thanksgiving Trip With the Boys
Page 62 - Christmas Trip
Page 78 - Spring Break '08

 

[BrooklynnsMommy]

How exciting - your daughter's first trip to WDW! And her first birthday there! Are you going to a special meal to celebrate her birthday?

We are going to Chef Mickey's!

Great Trip report so far. I wish my Mom was as excited as yours. I took her in Feb 06 and she said... ok-- don't need to do it again.

As you can tell by my mom's reply below, getting her excited is not a problem.

Actually, I've heard through the grapevine that your mom is excited out of her mind!!! I've heard that she is on the Disboards every day, that she has the days, hours, and minutes on a ticker somewhere, that she grins like an idiot at the mention of the Disney trip, and that she gets tears in her eyes just picturing herself waving at you and Brooklynn as you ride around and around in circles on Dumbo for the first time. I am looking forward to reading your trip report, and more than that, I am looking forward to being IN the trip report! Not in the pictures, mind you, but just in the report. We're going to Disney World next month! Better go start packing. Oh wait, I already have started packing!!! As the boys would say, "You have issues. Serious issues."

I cannot wait!!!! We know we have issues so it is okay.

 

[tiggerbell]

Thanks to the head's up from MeMom (HI!!!), I'M IN!!!

I love the magical milestones like "next month" "this month", "this week"... I just love the anticipation of the trip!

 

[Glendamax]

YAY!!! Glad I found you! Looking forward to much more!!!!

Hey wait!!!! You're going before I am!!!!! Should I really take time to read this? Hmmmmm . . .

 

[BrooklynnsMommy]

Thanks to the head's up from MeMom (HI!!!), I'M IN!!!

I love the magical milestones like "next month" "this month", "this week"... I just love the anticipation of the trip!

Yep. Since my mom is on summer vacation for the next 8 weeks I'm sure she will be promoting our trip report. It will end up being a tag team effort. Since I have the technology know-how and she has the time and we both have a humorous family and love for Disney.

YAY!!! Glad I found you! Looking forward to much more!!!!

Hey wait!!!! You're going before I am!!!!! Should I really take time to read this? Hmmmmm . . .

Yes. You should read it because when ours is over you can point and laugh at us because you will still have your trip to look foward to.

 

[BrooklynnsMommy]

This trip, which was originally dubbed Blowout '07, because it will be the biggest trip of our lives, has been over a year in the making. Last June, I went to Disney World with my "bestest" friend, Kay, because I just really, really wanted to go to Disney World. Jill, my Disney daughter, was a whole lot pregnant with Brooklynn, her only child/partner-to-be in Disneymania, and could not go, per instructions of her doctor, so I took a mini-Minnie and she went in Jill's place.

We had a little fun doing a Minnie trip for Jill, and the pictures are pretty cute. We've got the common sense to know that our Minnie was only cotton stuffing, of course, and we treated her as such. She willingly took her place in my bag until we found a photo op to pull her out, and she was kind enough to wear a smile for every picture every time we allowed her to come out. So, if you're wondering if we're weird or just silly-crazy, go with silly-crazy. We had a little fun with it, but we didn't cross over any lines of reality. Anyway, Kay and I, along with my youngest son (not so Disney, but I still love him), Drew, and his buddy, Sam, went down and had a hot, crowded, great time the week of Fourth of July. We had as much fun as two hobbling, plain Jane, nearly 50 year old grandmas-to-be could have. We stayed at All-Star Sports, because that was the only value available when we finally decided we could go. Kay and I did some resort hopping, and I had to take her to Pop Century to show her where the kids and I had stayed in 2005. As soon as I walked into Everything Pop, happiness flooded over me. I just grinned the whole time I was there. It is sorta hard to eat tie-dyed cheesecake and grin at the same time, but I managed it.

I knew in my heart I was food court hopping, but I pretended like I belonged there. Like I was a true "POP-er", even though I was, in truth, a temporary resident of Surf's Up City, All Star, USA. I so much wanted all my kids to be back there with me, and I inquired at the desk about how far in advance I should book for summer 2007. I was told Pop had been booking pretty solid since about February. So, I came home and called in right away for nine nights and as many minutes as we could stretch out of it at my beloved Pop Century. Everyone in the family was included, and the trip was my gift to them all instead of having big birthdays and holiday celebrations throughout the year. Everyone got a tiny birthday and a tiny Christmas, but their 'big present' is the trip. Rooms, tickets, and food paid for. It is a celebration of Brooklynn's first birthday, and as a gift to myself, I made it so we'd be there on my 50th birthday, because there is no place I'd rather be than in Disney World with all my family on that day. So, Happy Birthday to me. And it is understood that I am the only one who has permission to say Happy Birthday in regards to me during the trip, because although I can be really friendly hiding behind the keyboard, I'm very introverted in real life. I'm sort of like Wilson on that old Tim Allen show. I like being behind things and not being seen. I will introduce you to our group via some rather odd (get used to it, if you plan to read this) comparisons, and hopefully you will feel at home with us.

We'll start with John (my son-in-law). If John were a store, he'd be Sears. The tool department. He loves tools. I give him jobs to do at my house, which is old-ish and falling apart, and he does them because he knows I'll buy him new tools with which to do said jobs. In real life, he's an engineer. He's precise, and he's brilliant. And he's precise. Precisely precise.

If Jill (my first child, the one who made me a Mommy) were a book, she'd be Birnbaum's Guide to Disney World. She is colorful and organized and all Disney, all the time. She loves to help other people plan their Disney trips, and she is a wealth of information. She's Honor Society smart, and she's efficient and dependable. In real life, she's the director of a franchised day care A very reputable one. She is married to the precise, brilliant engineer. She is the mommy of the baby that kept her from last year's trip.

If Trent (my oldest son) were a medal, he'd be gold. He got the good hair, good eyes, good teeth, excelled in every sport he ever played, and was an Honor Society student, as well. People like gold, and people like Trent. In real life, he's a college student (business major) who works part-time during the year and full-time in the summer. In his room, there are many gold medals and trophies. And mounds of clothes which need to be put in drawers and closets. Trent is also a little moody. On our 2005 trip, we had him pose beside one of the mood rings on our 70's Pop building. Jill and I grin every time we see that picture, but Trent never has known the significance of the pose. He just stood where we told him to, because he's a guy.

If Kristi (Trent's girlfriend) were a flavor, she'd be cotton candy, because she's just that sweet and she makes you smile. And she'd be lots of colors, because she's eclectic in her tastes. She'd be tutti fruiti, because she's kinda silly...in a sweet, good way. In real life, she's a college student who would like to be a pediatric nurse. She loves Trent, and Trent loves her, and they are very cute together. She and Trent have a plan, but it starts with them both finishing school.

If Drew (my youngest son) were a Disney character, he'd be Mowgli. He has always gone out on his own with no fear, and knows people of all kinds everywhere he goes. He stays gone for hours on end, exploring his jungle (which might be anywhere within the 48 contiguous states at any given time if there is no school), but he finds his way back home at the end of the day and likes his own little nest for sleeping. If he were a Disney ride, he'd be Test Track. He would be happy living in Test Track. He loves cars, motors, tires, and other assorted parts, and BMX bikes. In real life, he is a high school student with one more year to go. He breaks out at the sight of school books and homework, but he is a fabulous photographer, and he can take your car apart and put it together as quick as a hiccup. And there will not be leftover parts laying around.

If Brooklynn (my first grandbaby, the one who made me a MeMom) were a song, she'd be Jesus Loves Me and It's a Small World. Because she's a "little one - to Him belongs" and Jesus does love her and she's small and she does have the whole world of hopes and fears and laughter and tears ahead of her. She just makes us smile, and it will be fun to be in Disney World with her. In real life, she's a baby.

And, if I were a TV show, I'd be The Waltons. Which is what I wanted to be. I would have been happy being plain, simple, and poor, with a table full of young'uns. But, since I ended up suddenly becoming a single mom after having three very young young'ns, that's all I could afford. I'm still plain, simple, and poor, but I just couldn't match Mrs. Walton's brood due to circumstances beyond my control. In real life, I am a third-grade teacher. I used to be just Mom to Jill, Trent, and Drew. I still am, but for the last ten months, I've also become MeMom to Brooklynn. Couldn't think of a grandmaw name that fit. I'm just me. Just Mom. MeMom.

So, that's our crew, along with Mowgli's friend, who is yet to be named. He has four guys that want to go with us, but two of them can't because of summer football obligations. Of the two that are left, Sam and Josh, Sam has been with us before, and he really wants to go back, but he isn't sure of his money situation. He is Crush-like, because he says "Dude" a lot. He gets first choice to go because he was invited first. Josh is a bit calmer and quieter than Crush, and he's going to go if Crush can't. If he goes, he will be named...I'm not sure yet.



Everyone has their own itinerary for this trip. We have four big meals planned for anyone who wants to do those together, but mostly we will meet each other coming and going and make up different combinations at different times. I plan to take lots of pictures, really absorb World Showcase, let Jill and John go do grown-up rides together while I explore WDW through Brooklynn's eyes, and just enjoy watching all my family enjoy themselves. Jill and John will enjoy rides and shows, and they will be the technical masterminds that produce this trip report and pictures. They will be experiencing the magic of Disney as stroller-packing parents for the first time. We will all work diligently not to run over you with the stroller, if you are in the crowd with us. Trent and Kristi will spend time at the pool and waterparks, and they want to go to Daytona a couple of times. Drew and friend will ride thrill rides, play arcade games, go to waterparks and DisneyQuest, and do some things in Orlando.

Jill and I will co-narrate this adventure, and we hope you will enjoy coming along on this crazy ride that we now call "Baby and the Tramp....and a Pop (Half) Century". If we receive one-miilionth of the dreams that are being given away this year, that will be great, but if not, this trip is already fabulous to me.

 

[Glendamax]

Yes. You should read it because when ours is over you can point and laugh at us because you will still have your trip to look foward to.

HA! Good Point!

Oh how I wish you knew me, so you could compare me to a ride, book, etc. I loved your descriptions - epecially of the baby . . . awww . . . .

Looking forward to more!

 

[ANTSS2001]

Okay it is official we go to Disney World NEXT MONTH!!!!!!

So now I can begin my pre-trip report without feeling like I am still too far out for it to really matter.

Let me begin by explaining how this particular trip came about:

I went to Disney World a few times as a child. We stayed at my Grandmother’s in St. Petersburg and just drove to Orlando for the day. We went to Epcot when I was 12 and then no more Florida because my grandmother moved back to Tennessee. Fast forward 9 years, I am now 21 and engaged. My wonderful fiancé tells me I can pick anywhere to go for our honeymoon. I tell him Disney World! So at 22 years old I return to Disney. This time we are staying on property (Port Orleans Riverside) and we are on the dining plan (food, food, and more food). I loved every minute of my week there and could not wait to return.

Fast forward a year and a half later, my mom calls and says she wants to go on vacation (we had not gone on a family vacation since the trip to Epcot when I was 12). She said she works too hard and needs to feel like she gets a small reward every now and then.

She says “Let’s go to the beach.”

I say “The beach?” because I have never been a let’s go lay out in the sun kinda girl.

“Yes. Let’s go to Destin. It isn’t that far. Check on hotel rooms and see how much it will cost.” (This is back when my mother knew nothing of the Disboards and therefore was computer illiterate except for checking her e-mail.)

I did some checking on rooms in Destin and Gulf Shores. I get prices together and then because I know that down deep my mom has a love for Disney that she needs to be reminded of, I get prices for the four of us (me, my mom, and my 2 brothers) for the same amount of time we were planning on going to the beach. I call her and tell her the price for the beach and then I tell her I found an even better deal that would include our hotel and all of our entertainment. She asks the price and I tell her. She says that is doable where would we be staying. That’s when I get all excited and started telling her of all the fun and the memories.

“It’s Disney World!!!!! We can stay at a value resort and go to all the parks. We could drive down there, park the car, and not touch it again until time to leave.”

She didn’t believe the price I quoted was for all four of us for a hotel and 5 day park hoppers. She knew it would be more expensive. So I walked her through how to do it on her computer and the price popped up. After a few moments of hesitation and disbelief she told me to book it.

We were on our way!!!!!

Well we had such a great time in July of ’05 that we decided to make it an annual trip. You will notice in my signature that there was not a July ’06 trip however. That is because I had to skip that trip because my doctor did not think it would be wise to sit in a car 10 hours to walk around for miles in the hot sun eight months pregnant. So last year my mom went to Disney without me so she could buy her first grandchild presents from the official Disney World.

So here we are June 1, 2007, we are 52 days away from our Blowout trip. The whole family is going for 10 whole days of Disney fun. We are celebrating my mom’s 50th birthday and Brooklynn’s first birthday while we are there.

YAY!!! Glad I found you! Looking forward to much more!!!!

Hey wait!!!! You're going before I am!!!!! Should I really take time to read this? Hmmmmm . . .

great start thanks glendamax for pointing me this direction...

 

[DISNEYDUET]

I'm in for the ride! This is going to be one crazy trip!

Jill-Did you notice MeMom has more post's than you? It looks like she has been bitten by the DIS bug!!

 

[OhMari]

I am enjoying reading 2 perspectives on your pre-trip. Hope you have a great time.

 

[BrooklynnsMommy]

I'm in for the ride! This is going to be one crazy trip!

Jill-Did you notice MeMom has more post's than you? It looks like she has been bitten by the DIS bug!!

She has been bitten hard. She also has some advantages.
She has a class of 20 third graders, I have a school of 175 children and 25 employees.
She has a computer at home and I don't.
And even if I did have a computer at home she has two grown sons that are there or not there at any given time, I have a 9 month old and a husband and have forgotten what quiet time for me truly is.
She is on vacation for 8 weeks and I am not.

But that is okay. She will pm me and let me know if someone has a good trip report or good food pics or other tidbits so that when I grab a few minutes at work I can go straight to the good stuff.

 

[MeMom]

It has been a bit of a roller coaster ride in trying to order our Disney Dining Experience card for this trip. Not Space Mountain-sized, but maybe Barnstormer-sized. When I ordered tickets, I got two annual passes, since Jill and I will be going back several times. I put them on will-call, to save $3.00 each for mailing, and I got a confirmation number, so all was well. Now I'm finding out that to order a DDE card, I need a voucher number from one of the APs. The voucher number is NOT the confirmation number, I find out. I need to use the cards the first night we arrive for Whispering Canyon, so waiting until we get there is not an option, since we are scheduled to eat at 5:30. I have spent countless minutes on the phone with about eleventeen different people, none who knew exactly how I should handle this. They've all been nice enough, but they just weren't sure of the best procedure to follow, or they weren't the ones with the right authority to do anything. I did have the pleasure of listening to lots of Disney music while on hold all these times. I finally got a kind woman this morning who has hopefully solved my DDD (Disney dining dilemma). I will refer to her as R, in case we're not supposed to give names. Anyway, R says she can call the DDE office and leave word that we do, indeed, have passes, and then I shall call back on Friday to order this most wonderful card and it should go through without a glitch. That will be my hope for this week, because if it doesn't work, I guess we're going to have to:

A)pay full price for everything the first night
OR
B) change our WCC reservations to later or another day until we get the right documents in our possession.

Our plan for the first day has been about the only set thing for the trip so far - to arrive, settle in, hit Magic Kingdom for a few minutes, ride the boat to Wilderness Lodge, eat at WCC, then head back to MK for an all family ride on Splash Mountain before going our separate ways. Here's crossing my fingers that R's plan works, so I can have the DDE on its way to me and we can use it from the get-go, as planned.

So, if you've been able to follow this, here's where we stand:

I need my WDW AP to get the DDE, so that after checking in at PC we can hit MK, ride to WL and eat at WCC with the discount. If you understand all that, and I know you do, then you are free to browse any of the leftover alphabet for the rest of the day.

Note for Countdown Day 47: I'll probably just spend the money to have tickets sent to me next time and wait to ride a real roller coaster when I get there.

 

[betsywdw]

Hi there I just found your pre-trippie and I love it!!!! I took my DD on her first trip in February (she was 11 months old)! We had the best trip of all time!!!! I know your trip will be awesome and I can't wait to read all about it!

 

[BrooklynnsMommy]

We'll get there and get to eat and eat and eat!!!!! The fact that Kristi will need ketchup at WCC will make all this stress worth the ride.

 

[praisehisname]

I just found your trippie, and I love it so far!!! My mother-in-law was Me-Mom to my kids (she passed away 8 years ago). She was a lot like you in that she took all five of her kids, their spouses, and their kids to Disney in 1998. It was my first time, and she definitely got me hooked!

Denise

 

[Lan]

I am loving this trip report. Thanks Glendamax for sending me the link.

 

[BrooklynnsMommy]

I'm so glad everyone is enjoying it. I hope to add pictures of everyone soon so you can put a face with the description. We are also planning our next Countdown to Disney party so we will definitely post pictures from that.