Mollydolly334
Honorary Floridian
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2015
- Messages
- 808
"My business is making people, especially children, happy." - Walt Disney
HELLO EVERYONE!!
I’m so excited to present to you- A MAY 2024 DISNEY FAMILY EXTRAVAGANZA!
I just returned from the trip of a lifetime. I’m used to traveling to WDW with other adults, and in smaller groups. But, this vacation was a huge family event, where I was able to experience WDW with my niece and nephews for their first time (twin 2-year olds and a 3-month old)!!
The beginning of the trip vs. the end
. Can you say HOT MESS?? 
I was in Disney World for 10 NIGHTS. That is the longest Disney trip I have taken to date, and it was so amazing to be in my happy place for so long!!
However, that doesn’t mean that the trip wasn’t without its rough patches. It was a super-busy, absolute WHIRLWIND of a trip with tons of moving parts. People were coming and going at all times! There were a total of 13 guests on this trip, and we stayed at a total of 5 different resorts! And, WDW with 3 children under three years old was… an experience
. But, I can safely say that it was one of the most magical trips I have ever taken. Seeing Disney World through the eyes of children is something I will never forget. It was so magical, that we are even plotting a return trip in September
.Like I said, there were many moving parts on this trip, so the planning for this was quite convoluted. If you lose track of things, you can read my PTR for some more background on all of the preparations and trip plans (link below)
Our biggest WDW vacation yet (but with the littlest guests)- A May PTR!
Here are the trip basics!
Dates: May 9th-19th, 2024. This was the total amount of time that I stayed at WDW (I stayed for the longest duration out of everyone). The rest of the group came and went on different dates!
Resorts: SO many resorts on this trip! The resorts that I stayed at (and will be reporting on) were Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort- Gran Destino Tower (3 nights in a Tower Standard King room), Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter (3 nights in a Garden View room), and Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort (4 nights in a Standard 5th Sleeper Room). But, the rest of the group also spent time at Disney’s Art of Animation Resort (Cars Suite) and Marriott’s Grande Vista Resort (3-Bedroom Villa).
Tickets: We all had varying lengths of park hopper tickets. I had an 8-day park hopper!
Travel: Most of us flew from separate locations (We had people coming in from Milwaukee, Chicago, Nashville, and Charleston)!
Genie + and Individual Lightning Lanes: Unfortunately, yes to both
. It was a necessary evil when traveling with littles!PhotoPass: Um, DUH! How else was I going to write a TR?
Here are some introductions for the characters in this report!
Me! (Auntie Molly)
My name is Molly, I’m 29 years old, and I have been a WDW super-fan ever since my first trip at 6 years old. Although I was born and raised in Wisconsin, I’m very fortunate to have been able to travel to Disney over 20 times in my life. I still live in Milwaukee, and try to visit a Disney property at least once a year if I can! Disney imagineering is a master of nostalgia-baiting, and I buy that stuff hook, line, and sinker. I’m such a sucker for nostalgia and a kid at heart! I’m really all about the sensory experience at Disney World; Smell (Disney smells are my favorite), Sight (people-watching in the parks gives me great joy), Sound (ambient sounds and music add so much to the overall experience), and of course Taste (I’m probably the biggest foodie of the group and a Disney snack expert). I’m also a huge fan of all of the Disney resort hotels with their immaculate theming and immersive nature!
Uncle Jake!
Jake and I are newly married (September 22, 2023 was the big day), and he is the most gentle, kind, and caring individual. I really hit the husband jackpot! He is my person, and Prince Charming
. We love to travel together and mesh very well in regards to pacing and ratio of relaxation vs. excursions while on vacation! Jake is definitely a WDW fan; I’m slowly converting him, but nobody can be as big of a fan as I am, hehe! Jake prefers the slower-paced nature of Disney, like Animal Kingdom, World Showcase, and California Adventure over at DLR. But, I’m turning him into quite the Disney Adult; we are going to Disneyland in October and I find him getting just as excited as I am!! We have also been to Aulani twice (for our engagement as well as part of our honeymoon) and are definitely considering a Disney Cruise sometime in the future!Haley (My Sister) and Ryan (Her Husband and my Brother-In-Law)! (Mom and Dad)
Haley and Ryan are a couple years older than Jake and I, and are superhero parents. I have no idea how they do it all and still stay so calm and involved!
Haley and I are polar opposites personality-wise, but have really become best friends as we’ve grown older. Haley is a huge Disney fan as well, and again, I’m slowly succeeding in converting all of my family into bona-fide Disney Adults
Haley was an absolute LEGEND with planning and preparing for this trip. She over-packed like crazy, but a lot of the gadgets she brought ended up being super helpful! Previously, during her last 2 trips to Disney, Haley was pregnant. So, she was very excited to enjoy some roller coasters and adult beverages this time around
Ryan is funny, laid-back, and friends with everyone, so he’s always great to travel with! Ryan definitely served as the “muscle operation” of this trip, and was a champ with carrying luggage, strollers, car seats, children, etc.
Ryan has been to Disney World many times and is super go-with-the-flow; as long as he has an adult beverage to sip on, he is good to go with anything! Lori! (My and Haley’s Mom- Nana)
If Haley is super-mom, Nana is super-Nana! She lives and breathes her grandchildren. My mom is a highly successful career woman (she is a pediatric dentist and the medical director of the dental clinic at a world-renowned hospital), but she knows how to let loose and have fun at Disney! She is my very best friend and is also one of my favorite people to travel to WDW with! Nana is happy to let me do all the planning and loves to just join for the ride
.Carla and Mark! (Ryan’s Parents- Cici and Chief)
Carla and Mark made sure that Ryan and his siblings grew up going to WDW all the time, so they are definitely Disney fans as well! We love hanging out with Mark and Carla; despite them being “in-laws”, we all truly get along great and they are so sweet. They were always such a help and so good with the kids as well on this trip. They prefer to tour slower at WDW and really take the parks at a relaxed pace, which can be a nice change from our usual commando-touring style. Carla and Mark are also foodies and enjoy snacking their way through the parks!
Auntie Kahla! (Ryan’s Sister)
Despite Kahla being Ryan’s sister, Kahla is also one of my good friends outside of that connection- she joined us for my WDW bachelorette party, I helped plan her WDW bachelorette party, and I was a bridesmaid in her wedding! She loves Disney almost as much as I do and is always down to talk WDW-related stuff with me! Originally, her husband Tony was going to come for a couple days as well, but he ended up catching the flu the day before he was supposed to fly out
. Kahla is all about the Disney fashion and always has Insta-worthy outfit and Minnie ear combos during her time in the parks!Uncle Thomas and Auntie Mel! (Ryan’s Brother and Sister-In-Law)
These two weren’t in my PTR, because they were SURPRISE ADDITIONS! Originally, Thomas and Mel thought that they weren’t going to be able to make it due to work conflicts. But, about 2 months before the trip, I was running errands around town, when I got a phone call from Thomas. Immediately, I thought, “I wonder if they're going to come to Disney after all.” And I was right!
The more the merrier! We secretly added them to our reservations and they were able to surprise Haley and Ryan with their appearance! I don’t think I’ve ever heard Ryan squeal so loud . Thomas and Mel loved trying all the Disney snacks and riding as many rides as they could- the two days they were there with us, they were busy, busy, busy!And now, the real stars of the show… the kids! All 3 belong to Haley and Ryan (they are my nephews and niece)
Evelyn (Evie)!
Evie is the one who gave me the idea for the TR title! During every attraction that we did, Evie would always get really excited and say “Let’s see what we can see!” in preparation
It totally enamored us, and by the end of the trip, we would all say it along with her!Evie is the older twin (by one minute), but she shows every second of it! Evie is the most verbose, confident, and assertive child I have ever met in my life. She is also the most sensitive and emotional child I’ve ever met
. She can turn from angel to little stinker in no time!! Evie loves anything girly; dress-up, all of the Disney princesses (especially Sofia, Cinderella and Tiana), and dolls. She was a huge fan of meeting all of the characters on this trip and also loved the shows! She also really became interested in other children this trip and was constantly talking to other little girls in line and making friends (especially if they were wearing a princess dress or holding a fun toy 
).Oliver (Ollie)!
Don’t let his face fool you; this guy is the definition of happy-go-lucky!
Oliver is our laid-back little buddy
. Oliver is very affectionate and is always down to cuddle! But, he is also super active and always moving! He is the type B to Evie’s type A! At the moment, Oliver has one interest and one interest only- PIXAR CARS. All of the Cars movies/shorts, characters, toys, books…he is a boy obsessed! Haley jokes that she has probably seen the first Cars movie 200 times, and I'm pretty sure that "cars" was his first word. Needless to say, the Cars Suite at AoA was a HIT!Ollie was also a huge character-meet fan and really enjoyed the parades! His love for Haunted Mansion also runs deep
. He REALLY came out of his shell on this trip. Oliver has always been the more quiet and reserved twin, but he was talking NONSTOP on this trip and saying so many more words and sentences! So much so that, by the end of the trip, his voice had developed a permanently raspy and hoarse quality .Ethan!
This little sweetie was born on February 1st, 2024, and is the perfect bookend to Haley and Ryan’s family. I am not joking when I say that out of all of the guests on this trip, Ethan was hands-down the best behaved
. He was nothing but smiles and cooing all day long . We’re already raising him to be the perfect Disney kid! As long as he was fed, he was happy! We would all literally fight over who got to hold and hang out with him all day long. He is such a gem!!WHEW! I think I covered everything about our crazy crew and whirlwind vacation! I’m so excited to re-live the magic with you all
. Day 0 coming soon!Pixie Dust…Activated!
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