Pre-Trip 2 Adults, 1 Child: Endless Possibilities!

Hello out there to all of my like-minded, Disney-loving adults on this here magical side of the internet. Thank you for stumbling into my humble abode errr…first Pre-Trip Report. I have no idea how to start this thing so excuse me for rambling (I do that a lot). I’m Nysha, a 30-something year old millennial from small town, South Carolina.

I’m an RN which is just a fancy term for boo-boo fixer. And I’ve loved Disney since I first stepped foot inside Magic Kingdom when I was 12 years old. I mean what’s not to love? The food, the rides, the people, the smells. It’s why I return year after year and why our credit card has so many miles on it.

Nysha's Favorites:
Ride: Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster​

Movie(s): It’s a toss-up between The Fox and the Hound and The Lion King.

*Honestly as I’m typing this, I’m realizing these are the two most depressing Disney movies of all time and I’ve managed to single-handedly place both of them in my top 2. Remind me to psychoanalyze myself after this.
Snack(s): Dole Whip or Grey Goose Slushie
Restaurant(s):
These change year after year due to that up and down roller coaster of emotions that the food quality consistently puts us through *cough* ‘Ohana *cough. *
In park: Hollywood Brown Derby
Out of Park: Wine Bar George for brunch.







So now that you know more information about me than you probably cared to, you’re probably asking who’s coming along with me for the ride.

Excellent question!

And the answer would be my darling hubby, Kalan.

Kalan works in quality assurance at BMW and when he’s not being ever so proficient at his job making sure all of us BMW owners are safe; he’s funding our Disney trips. Probably the top reason I married him…well that and love (in no particular order). His first time going to Disney was with me in July of 2019, and needless to say he fell in love with the magic.

He also proved to be my Prince Charming when he proposed marriage to me in Cindy’s castle a few years later.

*Pardon me. It was a typical July day and I look a hot sweaty mess here. The suns rays decided to pistol whip me and then humidity couldn’t wait to tap in and start suffocating me to death. Yup they jumped me right before my proposal. Cowards.




Kalan's Favorites:
Ride: Splash Mountain
Movie(s): The Lion King
Snack: Pulled Pork & Mac & Cheese from Flame Tree BBQ
Restaurant(s):
In park: The Hollywood Brown Derby
Out of Park: Narcoossee's



Also, for the first time joining us will be our beautiful little girl Amina. She is the sweetest, most precious baby that you will ever meet (and I promise that’s not the momma bias talking). She will be 18 months old on this trip.

Being completely transparent I can’t help but to feel a little nervous...mainly excited but there's a tinge of "can we do this?!" Disney can be stressful and adding an 18 month old seems like it may be daunting. But hey, I’ve dealt with blood and guts for a living so if anyone has the nerves of steel for this, it’s me. However, I am definitely all ears for any tips, tricks (magic or otherwise ) that you can give me!

I hope you enjoy this possibly chaotic PTR and that you’ll stick around while we get all of these last-minute kinks worked out in these next few months!



xx

Chapters:
The 5 W’s
Sounds Like a Plan! (Pt. 1)​

 

[fractal]

I'm in!

My daughter is an RN so I hear some of the blood and guts stories. Nurses are very special people!

That was an awesome proposal and your daughter is the cutest! Looking forward to more.

 

[Tiki Traveler]

Welcome from a newer member too! Several of the recent trip reports are from those with young children so their experiences should help and you seem like a Disney Pro for everything else. Looking forward to following along with you and your beautiful family!

P.S. Thanks for being a nurse! We need more.

 

[Wicked Sisters]

Always love reading a new TR. Your daughter is adorable and it will be lovely seeing her reaction to all the characters. I was in the NHS for 41 years but 30 of them were in Paediatrics so not so much blood and guts thank goodness.

 

[headintheclouds]

I'm in!

My daughter is an RN so I hear some of the blood and guts stories. Nurses are very special people!

That was an awesome proposal and your daughter is the cutest! Looking forward to more.

Thank you so much! As weird as it sounds to people who don’t work the field, I love some blood and guts.

Welcome from a newer member too! Several of the recent trip reports are from those with young children so their experiences should help and you seem like a Disney Pro for everything else. Looking forward to following along with you and your beautiful family!

P.S. Thanks for being a nurse! We need more.

Perfect! I’ll check them out! Thanks for the warm welcome and I appreciate your thanks.

Always love reading a new TR. Your daughter is adorable and it will be lovely seeing her reaction to all the characters. I was in the NHS for 41 years but 30 of them were in Paediatrics so not so much blood and guts thank goodness.

I’ve always wondered how I would be as a pediatric nurse. But dealing with sick kids probably would break my heart every shift.

 

[MickeyCB]

I'm in and looking forward to following along!

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

Welcome and hello!

Amina is such a cutie. We recently completed our first trip with a then 19 month old and had a lot of fun. Especially if she already has a sweet personality you should all do fine.

 

[Bullseye1967]

Following along!

 

[RememberWhen]

Very excited to hear about your trip! Between being a WDW vet and a nurse, you can definitely handle the trip with a baby. You got this! But if you have questions, there’s a bunch of us with littles who are happy to help.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I'm following too.

 

[Darstarr]

This is all I remember:

Snack(s): Dole Whip or Grey Goose Slushie

After that I blanked out because I was salivating thinking of Dole Whip and Grey Goose Slushies. (Yes slushieS, plural, because you can’t have just one!)

 

[BigDis]

Can't wait to read your trip report. As a long time traveler to Disney World (first trip was in 1973) I enjoy reading everyone's TR's and always learn something that is valuable and used for future trips. One of these days I will write of our experiences. We started going to Disney World before we had children and took our last trip this past December/January with our 3 adult children and their significant others. My only advice for your first trip with your beautiful daughter is to enjoy this trip and all future trips knowing that how you "do" the parks will be different at each phase of your daughter's life and enjoy and treasure each trip and the different experiences you have as you and your family changes over the years. Thanks for sharing your up-and-coming experiences of this trip. You're off to a great start.

 

[headintheclouds]

I'm in and looking forward to following along!

Thank you so much!

Welcome and hello!

Amina is such a cutie. We recently completed our first trip with a then 19 month old and had a lot of fun. Especially if she already has a sweet personality you should all do fine.

Thank you! Did you do a TR on your trip? I’d love to read it! And yes, she does have a sweet personality.

Following along!

Thank you!!

Very excited to hear about your trip! Between being a WDW vet and a nurse, you can definitely handle the trip with a baby. You got this! But if you have questions, there’s a bunch of us with littles who are happy to help.

Thank you so much! I’m like a sponge when it comes to any information you guys wanna give me!

I'm following too.

Thank you!

This is all I remember:

After that I blanked out because I was salivating thinking of Dole Whip and Grey Goose Slushies. (Yes slushieS, plural, because you can’t have just one!)

I’ve had more than my fair share of those drinks. They are dangerous because I’m a lightweight and you can’t taste the alcohol.

Can't wait to read your trip report. As a long time traveler to Disney World (first trip was in 1973) I enjoy reading everyone's TR's and always learn something that is valuable and used for future trips. One of these days I will write of our experiences. We started going to Disney World before we had children and took our last trip this past December/January with our 3 adult children and their significant others. My only advice for your first trip with your beautiful daughter is to enjoy this trip and all future trips knowing that how you "do" the parks will be different at each phase of your daughter's life and enjoy and treasure each trip and the different experiences you have as you and your family changes over the years. Thanks for sharing your up-and-coming experiences of this trip. You're off to a great start.

I love that advice! Thank you so much!

 

[headintheclouds]

The 5 W’s

Who:
(Please proceed to post #1) ← in case you just completely bypassed that.

What:
That remains to be seen! Stick around for my trip report!

When:
June 30th - July 11th.

Where:
Pop Century! We love this resort and I think with all the bright, fun colors Mina will love it too! Plus we…I love the Skyliner - Kalan hates heights and prefers that his feet stay planted firmly on the ground.

Why:
Because it’s Disney.
Because I’m a tired healthcare worker.
Because I want to take my daughter on her first Disney trip as soon as possible.

But you want to know what the response is from 99.999% of the people I’ve told? Not, “how sweet!” Not, “it’s going to be so much fun!” Not, “Amina’s going to love it!” It’s:

“You’re taking her at 18 months? Why? She won’t remember anything!”

With, “Disney is so expensive,” trailing not too far behind in 2nd place.

Me and Kalan are both well aware of the price. Kalan has cried in the bathroom, receipts in hand, screaming something about “being in financial ruin” after every Disney trip we’ve ever taken.

*I mean I think that’s what he’s saying. I’m not really sure. I barely pay attention to all those theatrics, I’m too busy planning the next trip.

So trust us, we know how expensive it is. And we are also astute enough to know she won’t remember this trip. But here’s the thing people:

Her. Parents. Will.

Even though her birthday was on February 14th, we are going to be celebrating her birthday along with our engagement anniversary on this trip.

Kalan thinks I’m certifiable but does anyone else celebrate the day they got engaged? Let me know if I’m actually clinically insane or if he deserves a night on the couch for calling his lovely wife crazy.

But honestly, we just want to celebrate life in our happy place.


FYI: Hospital Pictures Below

Me and Amina went through a lot last year. She was supposed to be a 4/20 baby but she was born two months early weighing in at 2 lbs.

I woke up with cramps so severe it literally brought me to tears. Checked my BP multiple times and the systolic (top) number climbed from the 160s to the 170s to the 180s. I went into L&D that morning and I had an emergency c-section by 10 that night.

I was diagnosed with HELLP syndrome.

If you’re not familiar with HELLP - it’s like the crazy sibling of pre-eclampsia. The sibling that never comes around (it’s super rare) and when they do they’re just really toxic (I ended up in ICU with 20 blood transfusions, had to be put on oxygen, suffered a collapsed lung and my liver shut down).

Amina stayed in the NICU for almost three months. She was diagnosed with failure to thrive, and she also had heart, lung and GI issues. It was a very tumultuous time for me and her but especially for my husband, who never left our side.

Since it was 2022 hospitals were still limiting visitors because of the virus that shall not be named. So after 7 PM he was supposed to go home. The nurses actually encouraged him to go home and get some rest. He told the nurses he didn’t want to be too far away from me (the hospital was an hour away) so he would just sleep in the car. They felt so bad for our family that they found a room for him to stay in on the unit above us. God bless those nurses because they didn’t have to do that.
I joked with them at one point “drinks on me.” (Get it? Because alcohol affects your liver and at the time my liver was shut down…never mind. Tough crowd. )

But despite all that we went through, our fairy tale ending arrived. I got discharged home and then Amina finally graduated from NICU (she even got the graduation cap and commencement music on our way to the car). So we both lived to tell the tale.

(And oh, how I will use this tale to guilt my husband and daughter for the rest of our lives *cue evil laugh*)

So the ultimate answer to the “why” is why not?

Because…life.

And life is most definitely, most assuredly, undeniably and unquestionably for the living…and as long as we’re alive we plan to kick a** - (can I say a** on here? ) - and ask questions later!

Next up:
Those strategic and well-thought-out Disney plans: a.k.a the itinerary!

xx​

 

[k8einwdw]

Hi and welcome! You have a beautiful family! We took our then 17-almost-18-month old to WDW the week after Thanksgiving, and had an incredible trip! Disney is totally doable (and FUN!) with toddlers!

 

[heatherhy01]

Your daughter is adorable! I am looking forward to hearing more about your planning! We took my youngest for the first time when she was 2, we learned to just take it easy and made sure to bring or rent a stroller that lays down so she could nap and we could just keep on moving. This worked for us, not sure if it would work for everyone.

 

[heatherhy01]

*I mean I think that’s what he’s saying. I’m not really sure. I barely pay attention to all those theatrics, I’m too busy planning the next trip.

 

[meggo819]

Her. Parents. Will.

This!!!

You will have a great time and I can’t wait to hear about it, as I’m loving your writing style!!

 

[joshsprincess921]

I can't wait to hear more. You have a beautiful family.
BTW, your report is very aesthetically pleasing.

 

[cgersic]

Oh my goodness, what a life story for all of you! I'm happy to be joining in on what will be such a special time. I recently took my first trip with a toddler (not mine) after many solo trips. Just know you won't really have a plan, so just plan on that. Looking forward to more with your beautiful family!