You're going where? with how many people? (Now with pictures!!)

[Princess Meg]

Hello and welcome to my first ever trip report…. admittedly a very dull trip report, the kind that has lots to read…but no pictures (Gasp). I’m a newbie to posting and can’t add pictures yet, but I’m trying to remedy that…. but have no patience so I am starting my trip report now anyway. Lol Sorry

On with the introductions….

Me: your average (at least on here…in real life this get plenty of eye rolls) Disney obsessed, scheming, uber planner, lover of all things “magical”, 40ish, dreamer who somehow managed to plan this trip with our very large family and can’t wait to share it with complete strangers (I tell my husband this is all completely normal Disney behavior)

G: my DH (Disney Husband right? My kids tare misguided and think it’s “Dear Husband” HA!) He’s newer to Disney only coming to understand my obsession AFTER we married 2 years ago (I of course secretly vetted him for susceptibility to optimal Disney programming prior to agreeing to marry him lol). He has now been to Disney 5 times and got brainwashed….no, programmed….no, persuaded…no, lead to believe….no, of his own brilliant thinking came to the conclusion that becoming annual pass-holders was a fantastic idea.

The rest of our motley crew consists of…get ready…it’s a lot….ready?.....our 6 kids, some of their significant others and our absolutely amazing granddaughter. We are blessed that our crazy crew (my 4 and his 2) get along like they have been part of the same family all of their lives (I’d have something goofy to say here, but honestly this fact still humbles me and makes me feel so blessed). So to simplify things they are P(25 oldest DD), E (24 DD), N (23 DS), A( 22 DS), his twin C (22 DS), and R (20 DD). Rounding out our Cast is P’s significant other D, their daughter lil P (4), and E’s significant other N (26). Phew…that’s a lot of people!!

How this trip came to be:

When we got married 2 years ago, we wanted a simple wedding on a beach. My only major request was that all 6 kids (significant others and grand-baby) all be there…the rest would just be icing on the cake (Mmmm….cake). We rented a large condo on Clearwater beach, picked a date when everyone was on break from school, scheduled travel, coordinated a beach wedding when everyone could be there and got married on a Wednesday afternoon during spring break…..yep, that’s right a Wednesday. But it gave everyone travel time and since I was really only worried about the kids all being there, I wasn’t too concerned with it needing to be on a weekend for anyone else. Well it all worked out, not only did we have an amazing wedding (which about 25 people made it to), but I was able to subtly plant “Disney seeds”. The kids had such an amazing time together that we began talking of a Family vacation. My kids have of course been Disney addicts their whole lives, so one small mention of Disney and they were off and running with the idea (score one for a life time of Disney Programming).

We agreed that two years would give everyone time to save and me just enough time to obsess as well as over plan. G and I said that we would cover lodging, but everyone else would be in charge of their own travel, food, and tickets (that’s a lot of money for 20 something year old’s and we knew the 2 years would be needed…( a little foreshadowing here…..some of them are not savers). Originally I wanted to stay in a DVC Grand Villa, but I really wanted lil P’s first trip to be at a memorable Disney Hotel and thought Animal Kingdom Lodge fit the bill….only to find out the Grand Villa’s were booked. I debated between Saratoga Springs Grand Villa or a 2 bedroom and separate studio at Animal Kingdom Lodge…and debated and debated then grand villas were gone at Saratoga Springs. Great, Decision made! We rented points and booked two separate reservations. One for the two bedroom and one for a studio.

We were doing great! Dates picked (December immediately after finals, but before Christmas) and approved by all necessary employers, rooms booked, airfare watch set up and Money being saved…right? Surely, they are all saving money, right? Nope.

Our first glitch came in the form of a very free-thinking lover of travel in the form of a 20-year-old. For her birthday (in October…two months prior to big family trip…. sounds close, right?) She decides she wants to go to New York. We live in the Midwest, this isn’t a quick day trip she’s talking here. She has cousins who live close to NYC that she can stay with and she announces that this is on her bucket list (no, nothing is wrong with her. She’s a millennial, she thinks she should tackle her bucket list now…you know while she’s young, can enjoy it, and has no money for it). For her birthday she wants airline tickets, not to Disney, but to NYC. Now I see a train wreck in the making here. My very non-millennial brain points out that having money for two trips close together will be impossible on her budget, getting time off for two trips will be difficult (and more taxing on said budget), she will have to pick and may not be happy with the consequences of her choice. She smiles and tells me how she has ALWAYS wanted to go to NYC, has been to Disney a bunch (gasp), doesn’t think she can save enough for Disney anyway (remember she has had two years…but saving is just now a real thing four months out), and has picked NYC. After many long conversations with G, tears, and failed reasoning with R, we buy her a birthday ticket to NYC. At this point I know the outcome of this and believe me when I say this will be one of the hardest life lessons I have ever had to sit back and watch unfold.

Sure enough, her trip to NYC was amazing, but she would not be joining us in Disney. She just didn’t have the money. This ultimately caused a lot of family strife as my extended family didn’t understand why we didn’t help her and have her come to Disney. It was hard and heart breaking, but with 6 kids all of whom struggled and saved, I could not do for one what I hadn’t done for all. So our trip would be one that was tinged with a bit of sadness.


Up Next: the part where we actually travel

 

[b5sgqueen]

I'm sorry about the outcome. I am a millenial(at the very tail end of the old side) and I actually did not take a single vacation until I was something like 10 years out of school.
I will also say that I think the rest of your family may take issue in the short term, but long term it will be better. As one half of a couple who saves and has worked multiple jobs, it really sucks when a family member gets handed something "to keep the peace." I'm not talking about a small child, but 20 and 30 year olds.

 

[Princess Meg]

I'm sorry about the outcome. I am a millenial(at the very tail end of the old side) and I actually did not take a single vacation until I was something like 10 years out of school.
I will also say that I think the rest of your family may take issue in the short term, but long term it will be better. As one half of a couple who saves and has worked multiple jobs, it really sucks when a family member gets handed something "to keep the peace." I'm not talking about a small child, but 20 and 30 year olds.

Thanks...I'm not going to lie, it was very hard to stick to this! I think she learned something from it, and since we are planning another family trip I think she will save...I think

 

[cheshiregoofy22]

Joining in! I feel your pain too - just three kiddos here - Our DS 22 and Twin DD 21. One twin is a saver and one is a spender. It sure gets tricky sometimes!

 

[barbieb21]

Also you are correct, its Disney Husband here around these parts. (other sites might say its Darling Husband, and while that's fine for them (not really they are wrong) D is for Disney here!)

 

[missangelalexis]

Joining in!

I am sure it was tough accepting that one of the kids wouldn't be coming (and all the backstory that went with it). But you did make the right call in the long term. And I can't wait to hear how the trip unfolded!

 

[Princess Meg]

Updating because I'm super excited I can add pictures now.....Maybe...if I can figure it out....don't hold your breath.....I'm not tech savvy
If it worked...this is a pic of our blended family. Missing from the pic is our Grand-daughter, and two of the significant others.....but if I get the picture thing figured out, you'll see them soon in the trip update!

 

[Princess Meg]

Day almost 1 and arrival

All good trip reports start with the night before, right? All of us minus one coming from a different state, managed to get on the same very early flight. P,D, and Lil P live near the airport, but for the rest of us it meant a hotel the night before. We got to town early and got to kick vacation off with seeing lil P in her preschool Christmas program…..soooo stinkin cute!! After dinner with P,D, and lil P we said goodnight we’d see them bright and early, then went to hotel to wait for the other 4 to arrive. Drinks were had at the bar (the joy of adult kids) and soon it was time to head to bed….only “OM TOO EXCITED TO SLEEP….I”M GOING TO DISNEY!!!”…..this was not fun for 3:30am wake up time.


Barely awake our group of 9 made our way to the airport. I love Indy’s airport. It is so easy! We breezed through security and were at the gate in no time. This part of the trip is really unremarkable except for the fact we were all sooo excited to watch lil P. I think we were all more excited to see Disney through her eyes than we were to do stuff ourselves.


Flight boarded, no problems…shortly after take off I decided to document everyone’s excitement:

Yeah, they are barely able to control themselves! Lol

We were safely on the ground (now slightly more rested) by 9:15am Disney time. Now being the Disney freak that I am, I wanted to go straight to magical express…do not pass go, do not collect $200…. seriously I was the most excited. My group wanted pictures, bathroom breaks, and Starbucks. Now my very logical brain that is sitting at home in front of the computer knows that all of that is very reasonable…. My Disney brain at the time was only thinking “NOOOOOOO, must get to magical express!!” Luckily one of my kids whispered “just breathe, it’ll all be fine”. They know me so well. I’d like to say this is the only Disney anxiety I had, but it wasn’t. For the most part I was able to cut it off or keep it to myself, but traveling with a large group was new and adjusting to all the different touring/vacation styles was going to be interesting.

After what seemed like hours (but was probably 30min lol) we were in line for Magical express. Our son N would be getting in about 5 hours later and meeting up with us at hotel. ANIMAL KINGDOM LODGE here we come!

 

[acgardne]

Following! We love IND too. So easy to get around, and the art everywhere is so fun. Can't wait to read more about your trip.

I can't see the pics in your most recent post, but maybe that is just me

 

[cajunfan]

I can't see the pics either, but know that anxiety well of traveling with a diverse group.

 

[Princess Meg]

Hmmm...I see the pictures, wonder what I am doing wrong. I will play with it and hope I can get them to show up

 

[GardenDesigner]

Joining in!

Kudos to the tough love /millennial thing. We have a few of those in our family and they are a law unto themselves. I'm famous for saying to them, "Life is hard. It's meant to be. Get used to it." I'm mean like that.

I'm traveling this December with a group of 12; 2 daughters and their families. 6 adults, 6 grands, from teen to toddler. I'm super excited and maybe a sqooch nervous, so I'm looking forward to seeing how things went with your crew!

PS I love your wedding photo!

 

[Wayland10]

Following along!

 

[missangelalexis]

Cute pic of you all with your magic bands!

 

[amberdc1987]

Following along . Millennial here.... Well the tail end of millennial. I really do have being grouped together with them lol.

I applaud you for not paying her way. That too some will power. However I can't say I agree with her decision to not go. To each they own I guess. I could have never done that to one of my parents knowing full well that was something they really wanted.

Y'all are off to a great start. I can't wait to read more .

 

[GardenDesigner]

Amberdc, aw, you know the older generation always complains about the younger one! It's tradition!

I know a lot of good people who are millennials...even if I can't believe them and their phones! Lol.

 

[amberdc1987]

Amberdc, aw, you know the older generation always complains about the younger one! It's tradition!

I know a lot of good people who are millennials...even if I can't believe them and their phones! Lol.

Lol .Yes we do like or phones. Shoot I complain about millennials all the time. Certain ones give the rest of us a bad name .