Hello everyone! New Dis-er here, reporting for pre-trip reporting!
Who we are:
My name is Rachal, I'm a 27 year old stay at home mom, that runs a children's website in her spare time. (spare! hehehe yeah... I lie to myself) I have been married for 8 wonderful years to a wonderful man, his name is Chip.
(I'll need to insert photos at a later time. Sorry!)
Chip: 31 years old, and has worked extremely hard to provide for his family. Never one to turn a friend down who needs his help, he's quiet and reserved a lot of the time.
And then, there is the star of the show:
Wil: 7 going on 15, this little man makes sure that there is never a dull moment in our house. From wanting to know how EVERYTHING works, to debating the 'constitutionality' of a set bedtime, I"m unsure of how I"m going to handle his teenage years.
To start off with... we LOVE Disney. It's something that even my oh so quiet husband likes to enjoy. It's been a rough year this year. Wil had an issue earlier in the year, and when they started talking about testing for cancer, we escaped for a week of Disney magic, just to get away from it all. (January)(Thankfully they ruled out cancer, but we are still fighting for a diagnosis!)
In March, my father passed away from COPD, and it's been really hard on the whole family. He was our rock, and our strength. He and Wil were extremely close and we miss him every single day.
Due in part to losing my dad, my mother decided that a family vacation was in order. Well... 2 actually! The 4th of July would have been their 25th wedding anniversary, and she really wanted to be anywhere but HERE. Since my birthday falls on the 9th of July, I was invited along (with Wil) on a one week cruise to the Mexican Riviera!
She was able to get some 'free' airline tickets with some points she had, but the catch was, we had to figure out what to do with 3 days at the end of the cruise. What in the world could we POSSIBLY do for 3 days at the end of a cruise that docks in Long Beach??
DISNEYLAND! We will be staying at the Grand Californian from July 11th-13th, after 7 wonderful days at sea. We have 3 day parkhoppers, and we received a premium character meal as part of our trip through Costco. Otherwise, we are going to wing it and just enjoy ourselves. #1 on the agenda is: Star Tours. Wil wants to ride it as much as he can, since when we make it to the World on the 7th of Sept... it's closing the next day!!
(He's not a big star wars fan or anything
)
Speaking of which, I'm constantly working on plans for our Sept Trip, which is where this Pre-Trip report kind of comes in. So far, these are our details.
Flying OVERNIGHT on Sept 6th, will arrive in Orlando (from San Francisco) at 8:30am on Sept 7th.
From the 7th-15th- Wilderness Lodge Resort, 10 day Parkhoppers, DX dining plan for my Mom, DH, DS, and myself.
(here things get a little murky) We cannot check into our TImeshare until the 17th, and will be flying home the 21st. My little brother is flying in for a week starting the 14th to truly make it a family trip.
We'll have a couple days (thinking about trying to extend once we are there since we can't get more than a 10 day pass right now) But we also are trying to work in Universal Studios and Sea World possibly. So I am still trying to figure out accommodations for the night of the 15th, 16th.
Mulling staying onsite at Universal for front of the line access, and early WWoHP, doing a Sea World Package and just heading over to US/IoA for a couple days later in the week. We just don't know!
Oh! I almost forgot... so there are 3 big reasons for this trip.
#1- Celebration of my dad's life and all that he has done for us as a family. Remembering and honoring his memory as we enjoy our family and make memories to last a lifetime.
#2- Wil turns 8 years old on Sept 10th. This will be a birthday that we'll never be able to top!
#3- Though we come home on the 21st, our Wedding anniversary is on the 26th of September and we will be celebrating with a night out and EMH on the 12th of Sept at the MK.
So far, these are the ADR's that we have. I was very intimidated booking our trip, since I've read so much about making those reservations EARLY!
Plane lands Sept 7th, 8:30am
Heading to WL to check in/ get cards / leave bags etc.
Sept 7th
Liberty Tree Tavern -Magic Kingdom Park: 1:00 pm
Chef Mickey's -Disney's Contemporary Resort: 9:15pm
Sept 8th
1900 Park Fare -Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa: 8:00am
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater -Disney's Hollywood Studios: 6:10pm
Sept 9th
Tusker House Restaurant - Animal Kingdom Park: 9:15am
Coral Reef Restaurant -Epcot: 7:05 pm
Sept 10th (Wil's 8th BDAY!)
The Crystal Palace -Magic Kingdom Park: 8:15am
The Garden Grill Restaurant -Epcot: 7:40pm
Sept 11th
Whispering Canyon Café -Disney's Wilderness Lodge: 9:05am
Sept 12th
'Ohana - Disney's Polynesian Resort: 8:40am
Yachtsman Steakhouse - Disney's Yacht Club Resort 7:15pm
(Just me and Chip for dinner!)
Sept 13th
Le Cellier Steakhouse - Epcot: 8:50pm
Still need to fit in some more. With the Free Dining, my mom decided that upgrading to DX so we would be able to eat without worrying about anything would be worth it for this trip.
Oh, did I not mention that Me, Wil, and my dear mom, (Brother too) Have NEVER been to the World? And it's been about 15 or 16 years since Chip has been back to Florida. I'm in for a WILD ride!!!
So here is the start, I'm sure I"ll be adding and chatting and getting some great advice from everyone!!
~Rachal
(Zara)
Who we are:
My name is Rachal, I'm a 27 year old stay at home mom, that runs a children's website in her spare time. (spare! hehehe yeah... I lie to myself) I have been married for 8 wonderful years to a wonderful man, his name is Chip.
(I'll need to insert photos at a later time. Sorry!)
Chip: 31 years old, and has worked extremely hard to provide for his family. Never one to turn a friend down who needs his help, he's quiet and reserved a lot of the time.
And then, there is the star of the show:
Wil: 7 going on 15, this little man makes sure that there is never a dull moment in our house. From wanting to know how EVERYTHING works, to debating the 'constitutionality' of a set bedtime, I"m unsure of how I"m going to handle his teenage years.
To start off with... we LOVE Disney. It's something that even my oh so quiet husband likes to enjoy. It's been a rough year this year. Wil had an issue earlier in the year, and when they started talking about testing for cancer, we escaped for a week of Disney magic, just to get away from it all. (January)(Thankfully they ruled out cancer, but we are still fighting for a diagnosis!)
In March, my father passed away from COPD, and it's been really hard on the whole family. He was our rock, and our strength. He and Wil were extremely close and we miss him every single day.
Due in part to losing my dad, my mother decided that a family vacation was in order. Well... 2 actually! The 4th of July would have been their 25th wedding anniversary, and she really wanted to be anywhere but HERE. Since my birthday falls on the 9th of July, I was invited along (with Wil) on a one week cruise to the Mexican Riviera!
She was able to get some 'free' airline tickets with some points she had, but the catch was, we had to figure out what to do with 3 days at the end of the cruise. What in the world could we POSSIBLY do for 3 days at the end of a cruise that docks in Long Beach??
DISNEYLAND! We will be staying at the Grand Californian from July 11th-13th, after 7 wonderful days at sea. We have 3 day parkhoppers, and we received a premium character meal as part of our trip through Costco. Otherwise, we are going to wing it and just enjoy ourselves. #1 on the agenda is: Star Tours. Wil wants to ride it as much as he can, since when we make it to the World on the 7th of Sept... it's closing the next day!!
(He's not a big star wars fan or anything
)Speaking of which, I'm constantly working on plans for our Sept Trip, which is where this Pre-Trip report kind of comes in. So far, these are our details.
Flying OVERNIGHT on Sept 6th, will arrive in Orlando (from San Francisco) at 8:30am on Sept 7th.
From the 7th-15th- Wilderness Lodge Resort, 10 day Parkhoppers, DX dining plan for my Mom, DH, DS, and myself.
(here things get a little murky) We cannot check into our TImeshare until the 17th, and will be flying home the 21st. My little brother is flying in for a week starting the 14th to truly make it a family trip.
We'll have a couple days (thinking about trying to extend once we are there since we can't get more than a 10 day pass right now) But we also are trying to work in Universal Studios and Sea World possibly. So I am still trying to figure out accommodations for the night of the 15th, 16th.
Mulling staying onsite at Universal for front of the line access, and early WWoHP, doing a Sea World Package and just heading over to US/IoA for a couple days later in the week. We just don't know!
Oh! I almost forgot... so there are 3 big reasons for this trip.
#1- Celebration of my dad's life and all that he has done for us as a family. Remembering and honoring his memory as we enjoy our family and make memories to last a lifetime.
#2- Wil turns 8 years old on Sept 10th. This will be a birthday that we'll never be able to top!
#3- Though we come home on the 21st, our Wedding anniversary is on the 26th of September and we will be celebrating with a night out and EMH on the 12th of Sept at the MK.
So far, these are the ADR's that we have. I was very intimidated booking our trip, since I've read so much about making those reservations EARLY!
Plane lands Sept 7th, 8:30am
Heading to WL to check in/ get cards / leave bags etc.
Sept 7th
Liberty Tree Tavern -Magic Kingdom Park: 1:00 pm
Chef Mickey's -Disney's Contemporary Resort: 9:15pm
Sept 8th
1900 Park Fare -Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa: 8:00am
Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater -Disney's Hollywood Studios: 6:10pm
Sept 9th
Tusker House Restaurant - Animal Kingdom Park: 9:15am
Coral Reef Restaurant -Epcot: 7:05 pm
Sept 10th (Wil's 8th BDAY!)
The Crystal Palace -Magic Kingdom Park: 8:15am
The Garden Grill Restaurant -Epcot: 7:40pm
Sept 11th
Whispering Canyon Café -Disney's Wilderness Lodge: 9:05am
Sept 12th
'Ohana - Disney's Polynesian Resort: 8:40am
Yachtsman Steakhouse - Disney's Yacht Club Resort 7:15pm
(Just me and Chip for dinner!)
Sept 13th
Le Cellier Steakhouse - Epcot: 8:50pm
Still need to fit in some more. With the Free Dining, my mom decided that upgrading to DX so we would be able to eat without worrying about anything would be worth it for this trip.
Oh, did I not mention that Me, Wil, and my dear mom, (Brother too) Have NEVER been to the World? And it's been about 15 or 16 years since Chip has been back to Florida. I'm in for a WILD ride!!!
So here is the start, I'm sure I"ll be adding and chatting and getting some great advice from everyone!!
~Rachal
(Zara)
to my first pre-trip report!
You are really creating some great memories for your family, and I think these family trips are the perfect way to celebrate your dad's life. Just noticed you're flying out of SFO, so you're a bay area girl too? 
