DisneyTiger
Life is what happens between trips to Disney World
- Joined
- Jul 15, 2008
Hi everyone! I wasn't sure where to start this TR off since it begins with our "land" portion and ends with a cruise. I think I'll start it here and then move it over to the cruise board once we get to that point. I hope you decided to join in to hear about our trip of a lifetime!!!
Introductions...
Me - Talissa - I am a 35 year old SAHM and I love all things Disney. I actually work from home as a Disney TA. I decided to put all of my neurotic planning skills to use and actually get paid for it
DH35 - Jason - he physical therapist who works his butt off for me to be able to stay home and raise our two beautiful children. Up until this trip, he was working 12-14 hour days so it was a MUCH needed break for him!
DD6 - Aubrey - our princess. Her first visit to WDW was for her 3rd birthday. She has become obsessed with Disney just like her mama. I couldn't be more proud
DS4 (almost 5) - Brendan - this child is BOY through and through. He loves trains, trucks, dirt, bugs... need I go on? He was 18 months on his first trip. This trip makes 6 times that my kids have been lucky enough to go to Disney. We are ALL very lucky and blessed.
Here is a family pic from our Christmas trip in December 2010...
Alrighty, so let me give you the background on this trip...
After our first few trips to WDW, we decided that DVC was something that would really benefit our family. We've been members for a few years now (I think we joined in 2007) and it has certainly paid for itself. We would have not been able to plan a trip like this without it. DH had been pushing me for years to book a Disney cruise. Well, I am VERY prone to motion sickness and was very leary about doing it. I once got so sick on Star Tours that I had to spend the rest of the day in bed while DH was out having fun
Also, the amount of DVC points it takes to pull off a cruise is crazy so I was always so worried about using up all of these points and then being too sick to enjoy the cruise. After doing some research and praying, I decided to go for it. So last February we scrounged together all of the points we could and booked not only a 4 night cruise on the Dream, but a 5 night stay at Beach Club - our favorite resort
It seems that every year around January/February, I start getting the beach itch. I am ready for sand and sun and fruity drinks by the time New Years gets here
So I figured what better time of year to go to a tropical island?!? That's also why we booked at Beach Club. Our "home" resort through DVC is Animal Kingdom (which really does tie with Beach Club for our favorite). We wanted to have a "beach" experience throughout our entire trip. And boy did we!!!
Ok, so let the planning begin! Right? Well, not exactly. See, this last year has been a really tough one for Jason and I. Marriage is HARD! Why did no one tell me this before I got married
I'm talking some serious lows. A place that neither of us ever expected to be. Life had gotten me so down that we decided to plan a last minute trip to WDW this past September. We didn't book through DVC, we stayed at ASMov and took advantage of the free dining. We also drove which was a first to us. Some of you may have read my TR from that trip. Well, I never finished it. It was not our best trip. So much so that I didn't even feel the need to finish the TR 
So sorry about that to those of you whom I left hanging Basically, one of our strollers got stolen, YES STOLEN, during that trip and it just put a damper on the whole thing. What was supposed to be a break from reality for us turned into being a very stressful trip.
ANYWAY.... I was very focused on planning that trip, then the holidays rolled around, then New Years... and then I wake up on January 1st and realize... we're going to WDW and a cruise in 30 days
All that I had planned was our dining. I hadn't even thought about this trip up until then which is CRAZY for me!! I actually kind of liked the way all of that happened because before we knew it, it was time for our trip.
In my head, I had a lot weighing on this trip. Basically it was going to be make it or break it for our marriage. We would be celebrating 10 years on the cruise (February 8th). We were going to be together for 9 nights. Straight
The plan:
-Beach Club Villas - Deluxe Studio 1/31/12 - 2/5/12
-Disney Dream - Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom - 2/5/12-2/9/12
Our flight was for late on the night of 1/31 at around 8:10pm. We picked the kids up from school and headed down to New Orleans. Our plan was to get some dinner there and wait for our flight.
Here is a pic of the kids just before we left the house for NOLA...
I guess we ended up leaving Baton Rouge at around 4:30. We got to NOLA in about an hour and dropped our car off at the airport Hilton. It was way cheaper parking there than at the airport. We waited for our shuttle and before we knew it, we were checking our bags at the Southwest counter!
Now let me tell you, this is the time to fly! There was NO ONE in the airport and our flight only had 33 people on it. It was GREAT!!!
After a quick and uneventful flight, we landed at MCO at about 10:30pm and made our way over to DME...
From here, the rest of the night was pretty uneventful. We checked in with no problem. Everyone was so nice and perky even at almost midnight!!
We settled into our room and fell asleep. We were exhausted. The plan for the next morning was - NOTHING! There were no alarms set, no wake up calls scheduled... we hung the "do not disturb" sign and slept until almost 10:00!! It was wonderful.
Up next, our first day in the parks - MK and Epcot!
Introductions...
Me - Talissa - I am a 35 year old SAHM and I love all things Disney. I actually work from home as a Disney TA. I decided to put all of my neurotic planning skills to use and actually get paid for it
DH35 - Jason - he physical therapist who works his butt off for me to be able to stay home and raise our two beautiful children. Up until this trip, he was working 12-14 hour days so it was a MUCH needed break for him!
DD6 - Aubrey - our princess. Her first visit to WDW was for her 3rd birthday. She has become obsessed with Disney just like her mama. I couldn't be more proud
DS4 (almost 5) - Brendan - this child is BOY through and through. He loves trains, trucks, dirt, bugs... need I go on? He was 18 months on his first trip. This trip makes 6 times that my kids have been lucky enough to go to Disney. We are ALL very lucky and blessed.
Here is a family pic from our Christmas trip in December 2010...
Alrighty, so let me give you the background on this trip...
After our first few trips to WDW, we decided that DVC was something that would really benefit our family. We've been members for a few years now (I think we joined in 2007) and it has certainly paid for itself. We would have not been able to plan a trip like this without it. DH had been pushing me for years to book a Disney cruise. Well, I am VERY prone to motion sickness and was very leary about doing it. I once got so sick on Star Tours that I had to spend the rest of the day in bed while DH was out having fun
Also, the amount of DVC points it takes to pull off a cruise is crazy so I was always so worried about using up all of these points and then being too sick to enjoy the cruise. After doing some research and praying, I decided to go for it. So last February we scrounged together all of the points we could and booked not only a 4 night cruise on the Dream, but a 5 night stay at Beach Club - our favorite resort It seems that every year around January/February, I start getting the beach itch. I am ready for sand and sun and fruity drinks by the time New Years gets here
So I figured what better time of year to go to a tropical island?!? That's also why we booked at Beach Club. Our "home" resort through DVC is Animal Kingdom (which really does tie with Beach Club for our favorite). We wanted to have a "beach" experience throughout our entire trip. And boy did we!!!Ok, so let the planning begin! Right? Well, not exactly. See, this last year has been a really tough one for Jason and I. Marriage is HARD! Why did no one tell me this before I got married
I'm talking some serious lows. A place that neither of us ever expected to be. Life had gotten me so down that we decided to plan a last minute trip to WDW this past September. We didn't book through DVC, we stayed at ASMov and took advantage of the free dining. We also drove which was a first to us. Some of you may have read my TR from that trip. Well, I never finished it. It was not our best trip. So much so that I didn't even feel the need to finish the TR So sorry about that to those of you whom I left hanging Basically, one of our strollers got stolen, YES STOLEN, during that trip and it just put a damper on the whole thing. What was supposed to be a break from reality for us turned into being a very stressful trip. ANYWAY.... I was very focused on planning that trip, then the holidays rolled around, then New Years... and then I wake up on January 1st and realize... we're going to WDW and a cruise in 30 days
All that I had planned was our dining. I hadn't even thought about this trip up until then which is CRAZY for me!! I actually kind of liked the way all of that happened because before we knew it, it was time for our trip. In my head, I had a lot weighing on this trip. Basically it was going to be make it or break it for our marriage. We would be celebrating 10 years on the cruise (February 8th). We were going to be together for 9 nights. Straight
The plan:
-Beach Club Villas - Deluxe Studio 1/31/12 - 2/5/12
-Disney Dream - Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom - 2/5/12-2/9/12
Our flight was for late on the night of 1/31 at around 8:10pm. We picked the kids up from school and headed down to New Orleans. Our plan was to get some dinner there and wait for our flight.
Here is a pic of the kids just before we left the house for NOLA...
I guess we ended up leaving Baton Rouge at around 4:30. We got to NOLA in about an hour and dropped our car off at the airport Hilton. It was way cheaper parking there than at the airport. We waited for our shuttle and before we knew it, we were checking our bags at the Southwest counter!
Now let me tell you, this is the time to fly! There was NO ONE in the airport and our flight only had 33 people on it. It was GREAT!!!
After a quick and uneventful flight, we landed at MCO at about 10:30pm and made our way over to DME...
From here, the rest of the night was pretty uneventful. We checked in with no problem. Everyone was so nice and perky even at almost midnight!!
We settled into our room and fell asleep. We were exhausted. The plan for the next morning was - NOTHING! There were no alarms set, no wake up calls scheduled... we hung the "do not disturb" sign and slept until almost 10:00!! It was wonderful.
Up next, our first day in the parks - MK and Epcot!
I am looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip, especially since it sounds like it was fantastic! 
love: the monorail BTW) and headed to Epcot. Being a TA, I hear from SO many people that "Epcot isn't fun for kids." I beg to differ. My kids LOVE Epcot!! Especially Soarin and our favorite family ride... Test Track!!! (stay tuned for a great TT video) We entered the gates, and I'll mention again that there was NO ONE in line! It was great. I noticed the Photopass people taking some cute new poses in front of SE so I decided to try one out myself...
Hi! Glad to hear it was so good! 
Yes, I'd like to keep reading! Keep writing, please! 
I just lost the urge to update since it was such a crappy trip 
