WayTooExcited
A tad overexuberant with excitement...
- Joined
- May 5, 2016
Hello, DisBoarders, and welcome to the trip report of awesomeness!
“Wow, you’re really tooting your own horn there, aren’t you WayTooExcited?”
You’re correct. I'll try to contain my excitement.
Where to begin, where to begin… well, the best place to begin is usually the beginning, isn’t it? We’ll start with the cast:
The Pater Familias (Donnie)
Donnie’s not a big fan of crowded places or spending money frivolously; so really, Disney isn’t his cup of tea. What he is a fan of, however, is spending time with his family and seeing them happy, and a Disney vacation is a good way to have both of those things.
The Patience of a Saint (Kathy)
Kathy’s greatest joy in life is her grandchildren. She can say that we’re her joys, too, but we all know it’s really the kids. ;-D She is very much looking forward to spending a week with them.
Brother-in-Law Extraordinaire (Shawn)
I don’t know for sure, but I’m almost certain this whole trip was his idea, for which I am extremely grateful. He’s excellent at getting everyone’s input and planning outstanding Disney vacations.
Sister-in-Law to the Stars (Rebecca)
Planning a Disney trip with Rebecca is really fun. When I start to go crazy with loads of ideas and worries, she patiently listens. She and Shawn would make an excellent Disney Travel Agent Duo.
SmartyPants McAwesome (Caden)
At 11 years old, Caden is Shawn and Rebecca’s oldest son. He is extremely intelligent and passionate about many things. He’s learning how to play the saxophone (which was my instrument in high school, so that automatically gives him like, 30 cool points in my book).
The Not-As-Gross One (Connor)
Connor used to be called “The Gross One,” but as he grows older he insists that he’s not AS gross. He is 8 (almost 9) years old and has a very kind and passionate heart. He’s Shawn and Rebecca’s middle child.
The Princess (Megan)
Megan is Shawn and Rebecca’s 5 year old daughter and every bit a princess. She knows what she wants and she wants it now. She is a super funny little girl and though she may be small in stature, she is mighty.
The Hubs (Nathan)
Nathan and I have been married for 8 wonderful years. He’s much like his father (Donnie) in that he doesn’t like being in crowds and spending money willy-nilly, but he absolutely loves Fuddruckers, a restaurant that left our area many years ago and of which there are two of in the Orlando area. It didn’t take much to sell him on the vacation idea.
The Precocious Writer (Casey, aka ME!)
I’ve been Disney obsessed since I was a kid. I’ve taken more trips that I can remember to Disney with my mom and best friends and will never turn down an opportunity to go again.
The Most Ridiculous One (Bailey)
Bailey is mine and Nathan’s 5 year old daughter. She’s probably the sweetest kid you will ever meet in your life. I know a lot of parents say that about their kids, but I’m pretty sure mine’s the sweetest. She’s also the most ridiculous. Example: she was crying one night because she was going to miss being 5. “I have so many good memories from being 5!” See? Super sweet, but slightly ridiculous. :-D This will be her first trip to Disney World.
The Evil Genius (Maisie)
Maisie is our 18 month old daughter. She is… something else. She’s absolutely hilarious and would rather scream than anything else. She does little things that make us believe that she’s actually an evil genius and the whole 18 month old toddler things is just her clever disguise. This will be her first trip to Disney World.
The Story
We all have family dinner together every Tuesday at Donnie and Kathy’s house. On one fateful Tuesday about a year and a half ago, Shawn brought up the subject of us all going to Disney World again (we went together in 2010, before Bailey, Megan and Maisie were born). I honestly thought it was kind of a long-shot, especially with Donnie and Nathan as they don’t like to spend money. By the end of dinner that night, however, everyone had agreed that this idea was a sound one. The planning was on!
We decided not to let the kids know until we got closer to the trip. It was very entertaining attempting to plan the trip when we were around the youngin's without them catching on. We would speak in code, saying "Dizzle Wizzle" instead of Disney World and used many known acronyms from these very boards.
Some time had passed, and Shawn and Rebecca planned to tell their kids after they got back from their summer trip to Saint Augustine. I had been chomping at the bit to tell Bailey. I had this big plan and in my head should would be jumping up and down, unable to contain her excitement, tears of joy streaming down her face... And let me tell you, her reaction was... rather underwhelming. I mean, it's understandable. We did tell her when it was 100 days out from the trip and that’s a pretty long time for a five year old to wait. You can see her reaction in the video below:
Instead of finding a resort for all 11 of us to stay at, Shawn and Rebecca searched around and found Quinn’s Vacation Homes. It’s a five bedroom, five bathroom house about a mile outside the parks. We’ll have our own swimming pool, which the kids are extra excited about. Hopefully it’ll be warm enough in November to swim… it’s always warm in Florida, right?
Time continued to move on and we finally reached five weeks out. Excitement was building. We were getting ready to make our fast pass selections, our ADRs were booked… then Kathy gets some sort of cold. That’s fine, she has five weeks to recover.
Four weeks out. We’re talking about what parks to go to which day, what rides we want to ride, whether to leave in the middle of the day or not… then Nathan gets some sort of virus. No problem, he has time.
Three weeks out. We’re planning our meals, when we’ll eat together, when we’ll go to Fuddruckers…. then Bailey gets The Cold From H-E-Double hockey sticks. But it's okay! We still have time! We’re planning date nights, when the kids will be watched and by whom…. then Caden’s injury happened.
He was doing one of those flips off of the monkey bars at school – you know, where you hang on the monkey bars then pull your legs up and over your head and drop down… Only he let go to early when he dropped down. Rebecca picked him up from school and took him to the hospital. After some examination, doctors said he had three compression fractures in his back. The family was kind of devastated. Connor cried, wishing that he had been there to protect his big brother. Rebecca had a hard time eating and planning the trip came to almost a complete halt. Caden was doing okay with everything. He was disappointed because one of the things he really wanted to do most was ride the coasters with his brother for the first time, since Connor wasn’t big enough to ride them last time they were there. The vacation had a somewhat somber mood after that… but he was cleared to go to Disney, so the planning must continue!
Five days out. Starting to get clothes packed, work out what we’ll need to bring to the house, figure out what to send with the Kathy and Don, who were driving down… and Caden’s follow up doctor appointment. Diagnosis: he probably doesn’t even have fractures! Yes!
They said his vertebrae are compressed but there was no danger of spine damage if he did something to hurt his back in Disney. He’d have to obviously listen to his body and keep track of his pain level, but we were good to go!
...except for Maisie, who got Bailey’s cold about a week and half before the trip, and I got it five days beforehand. But whatever! We’re good to go!
Now we wait…
“Wow, you’re really tooting your own horn there, aren’t you WayTooExcited?”
You’re correct. I'll try to contain my excitement.
Where to begin, where to begin… well, the best place to begin is usually the beginning, isn’t it? We’ll start with the cast:
The Pater Familias (Donnie)
Donnie’s not a big fan of crowded places or spending money frivolously; so really, Disney isn’t his cup of tea. What he is a fan of, however, is spending time with his family and seeing them happy, and a Disney vacation is a good way to have both of those things.
The Patience of a Saint (Kathy)
Kathy’s greatest joy in life is her grandchildren. She can say that we’re her joys, too, but we all know it’s really the kids. ;-D She is very much looking forward to spending a week with them.
Brother-in-Law Extraordinaire (Shawn)
I don’t know for sure, but I’m almost certain this whole trip was his idea, for which I am extremely grateful. He’s excellent at getting everyone’s input and planning outstanding Disney vacations.
Sister-in-Law to the Stars (Rebecca)
Planning a Disney trip with Rebecca is really fun. When I start to go crazy with loads of ideas and worries, she patiently listens. She and Shawn would make an excellent Disney Travel Agent Duo.
SmartyPants McAwesome (Caden)
At 11 years old, Caden is Shawn and Rebecca’s oldest son. He is extremely intelligent and passionate about many things. He’s learning how to play the saxophone (which was my instrument in high school, so that automatically gives him like, 30 cool points in my book).
The Not-As-Gross One (Connor)
Connor used to be called “The Gross One,” but as he grows older he insists that he’s not AS gross. He is 8 (almost 9) years old and has a very kind and passionate heart. He’s Shawn and Rebecca’s middle child.
The Princess (Megan)
Megan is Shawn and Rebecca’s 5 year old daughter and every bit a princess. She knows what she wants and she wants it now. She is a super funny little girl and though she may be small in stature, she is mighty.
The Hubs (Nathan)
Nathan and I have been married for 8 wonderful years. He’s much like his father (Donnie) in that he doesn’t like being in crowds and spending money willy-nilly, but he absolutely loves Fuddruckers, a restaurant that left our area many years ago and of which there are two of in the Orlando area. It didn’t take much to sell him on the vacation idea.
The Precocious Writer (Casey, aka ME!)
I’ve been Disney obsessed since I was a kid. I’ve taken more trips that I can remember to Disney with my mom and best friends and will never turn down an opportunity to go again.
The Most Ridiculous One (Bailey)
Bailey is mine and Nathan’s 5 year old daughter. She’s probably the sweetest kid you will ever meet in your life. I know a lot of parents say that about their kids, but I’m pretty sure mine’s the sweetest. She’s also the most ridiculous. Example: she was crying one night because she was going to miss being 5. “I have so many good memories from being 5!” See? Super sweet, but slightly ridiculous. :-D This will be her first trip to Disney World.
The Evil Genius (Maisie)
Maisie is our 18 month old daughter. She is… something else. She’s absolutely hilarious and would rather scream than anything else. She does little things that make us believe that she’s actually an evil genius and the whole 18 month old toddler things is just her clever disguise. This will be her first trip to Disney World.
The Story
We all have family dinner together every Tuesday at Donnie and Kathy’s house. On one fateful Tuesday about a year and a half ago, Shawn brought up the subject of us all going to Disney World again (we went together in 2010, before Bailey, Megan and Maisie were born). I honestly thought it was kind of a long-shot, especially with Donnie and Nathan as they don’t like to spend money. By the end of dinner that night, however, everyone had agreed that this idea was a sound one. The planning was on!
We decided not to let the kids know until we got closer to the trip. It was very entertaining attempting to plan the trip when we were around the youngin's without them catching on. We would speak in code, saying "Dizzle Wizzle" instead of Disney World and used many known acronyms from these very boards.
Some time had passed, and Shawn and Rebecca planned to tell their kids after they got back from their summer trip to Saint Augustine. I had been chomping at the bit to tell Bailey. I had this big plan and in my head should would be jumping up and down, unable to contain her excitement, tears of joy streaming down her face... And let me tell you, her reaction was... rather underwhelming. I mean, it's understandable. We did tell her when it was 100 days out from the trip and that’s a pretty long time for a five year old to wait. You can see her reaction in the video below:
Instead of finding a resort for all 11 of us to stay at, Shawn and Rebecca searched around and found Quinn’s Vacation Homes. It’s a five bedroom, five bathroom house about a mile outside the parks. We’ll have our own swimming pool, which the kids are extra excited about. Hopefully it’ll be warm enough in November to swim… it’s always warm in Florida, right?
Time continued to move on and we finally reached five weeks out. Excitement was building. We were getting ready to make our fast pass selections, our ADRs were booked… then Kathy gets some sort of cold. That’s fine, she has five weeks to recover.
Four weeks out. We’re talking about what parks to go to which day, what rides we want to ride, whether to leave in the middle of the day or not… then Nathan gets some sort of virus. No problem, he has time.
Three weeks out. We’re planning our meals, when we’ll eat together, when we’ll go to Fuddruckers…. then Bailey gets The Cold From H-E-Double hockey sticks. But it's okay! We still have time! We’re planning date nights, when the kids will be watched and by whom…. then Caden’s injury happened.
He was doing one of those flips off of the monkey bars at school – you know, where you hang on the monkey bars then pull your legs up and over your head and drop down… Only he let go to early when he dropped down. Rebecca picked him up from school and took him to the hospital. After some examination, doctors said he had three compression fractures in his back. The family was kind of devastated. Connor cried, wishing that he had been there to protect his big brother. Rebecca had a hard time eating and planning the trip came to almost a complete halt. Caden was doing okay with everything. He was disappointed because one of the things he really wanted to do most was ride the coasters with his brother for the first time, since Connor wasn’t big enough to ride them last time they were there. The vacation had a somewhat somber mood after that… but he was cleared to go to Disney, so the planning must continue!
Five days out. Starting to get clothes packed, work out what we’ll need to bring to the house, figure out what to send with the Kathy and Don, who were driving down… and Caden’s follow up doctor appointment. Diagnosis: he probably doesn’t even have fractures! Yes!
They said his vertebrae are compressed but there was no danger of spine damage if he did something to hurt his back in Disney. He’d have to obviously listen to his body and keep track of his pain level, but we were good to go!...except for Maisie, who got Bailey’s cold about a week and half before the trip, and I got it five days beforehand. But whatever! We’re good to go!
Now we wait…
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