Greetings and salutations! I love living vicariously through everyone's TRs, and since I'm home sick today (and the weather here in Buffalo is crummy), I thought it would cheer me up to start a pre-trip report 
This is my first "whole family" (although a few people are missing) trip since 2003. The same group also traveled to WDW in 2000 (the one and only time we all drove together, thank goodness!). I've had a few day or 2-day trips, but my last "real" Disney vacation (more than 3 days) was in October 2007.
In the past year or two, my grandma's health has taken a serious turn. She now has oxygen, and uses a scooter when she leaves the house (which is rare). She was in the ER recently (just a scare); and was so upset; however, as soon as I started talking about where we'd go for the DDP, it was like she had forgotten her health altogether. I sincerely believe she is hanging on for this trip, and I'm committed to making it the best ever. We are prepared to stop, go back to the hotel, whatever we have to do, as many times as we have to do it, so that she isn't taxed unnecessarily (I know, it's going to be hot in August - blame my sister, the educator).
With that in mind, my family has been to WDW so many times (I've been 30+ times, thanks to my AP days in the early 2000s, rest of the fam has been 15+ times), that we aren't "commando" planners. The only reason this trip is receiving any real planning is because we have free dining (woo hoo!).
Soooo, here's the cast of characters:
Moi - 30, obsessor of all things WDW (I'm a copy editor/writer and project manager for a marketing communications firm, and my entire cube is WDW-themed...when I'm in copy mode, I get into the "zone" with WDW loops on my iPod).
DSis - 34, huge Disney nerd, but much more subdued than myself. My sister and I have always been extremely close, and she is my most frequent WDW travel buddy.
DM - 54 (when we go, lol, she's be mad if I rounded up now!). My mom instilled my passion for all things Disney into me as a young tot. Also, my second most-frequent WDW travel buddy. My mom had major back and neck surgery last year at this time, and it was very scary for awhile. She was in intensive care for two weeks and it was very touch and go. Thankfully, although she still suffers from a lot of pain, she is in much better shape now. The weekend before her surgery (and for this, I'll always be grateful), I surprised my mom at the last minute with a getaway to WDW (we only had one day in a park - MK, and it was awesome). This was my last "trip" (just one day!) to WDW.
DG - 78! This is my grandma, who I mentioned above. My grandma started our entire family's love for all things Disney, and that is just one of the things I love her for. Although she needs oxygen and a scooter, she is SO excited for this trip. Because of her scooter and oxygen needs, she's driving up with my aunt.
DA - 58, my mom's sister, and like a second mother to me. My aunt has this wonderful ability to see everything with the wonder I hope to have after so many WDW trips (hasn't waned yet!). She'll be driving up in her SUV with my grandma, and will arrive on Saturday (the rest of us arrive that day by plane).
DC - 25 (turning 25 this month), my cousin, who is like another sister to me (and my DA's daughter). Growing up, we all went to WDW together, and it's important to us to keep the tradition of family trips going.
Here's a picture of everyone from our last group trip in 2003 (that's everyone, plus my brother, who lives in Boston and, sadly, won't be joining us on this trip . I'm all the way to the left, btw...makes me feel old (wow, just realized how much weight my mom has lost since then, too)! Plus, I was about 20 pounds thinner there, but hey, it reminds me of my goal!):
Wow, this is getting long already - next post will include our dates, hotel, etc, and our DDP info. Hope everyone enjoys the ride :sohappy:
This is my first "whole family" (although a few people are missing) trip since 2003. The same group also traveled to WDW in 2000 (the one and only time we all drove together, thank goodness!). I've had a few day or 2-day trips, but my last "real" Disney vacation (more than 3 days) was in October 2007.
In the past year or two, my grandma's health has taken a serious turn. She now has oxygen, and uses a scooter when she leaves the house (which is rare). She was in the ER recently (just a scare); and was so upset; however, as soon as I started talking about where we'd go for the DDP, it was like she had forgotten her health altogether. I sincerely believe she is hanging on for this trip, and I'm committed to making it the best ever. We are prepared to stop, go back to the hotel, whatever we have to do, as many times as we have to do it, so that she isn't taxed unnecessarily (I know, it's going to be hot in August - blame my sister, the educator
).With that in mind, my family has been to WDW so many times (I've been 30+ times, thanks to my AP days in the early 2000s, rest of the fam has been 15+ times), that we aren't "commando" planners. The only reason this trip is receiving any real planning is because we have free dining (woo hoo!).
Soooo, here's the cast of characters:
Moi - 30, obsessor of all things WDW (I'm a copy editor/writer and project manager for a marketing communications firm, and my entire cube is WDW-themed...when I'm in copy mode, I get into the "zone" with WDW loops on my iPod).
DSis - 34, huge Disney nerd, but much more subdued than myself
. My sister and I have always been extremely close, and she is my most frequent WDW travel buddy. DM - 54 (when we go, lol, she's be mad if I rounded up now!). My mom instilled my passion for all things Disney into me as a young tot. Also, my second most-frequent WDW travel buddy. My mom had major back and neck surgery last year at this time, and it was very scary for awhile. She was in intensive care for two weeks and it was very touch and go. Thankfully, although she still suffers from a lot of pain, she is in much better shape now. The weekend before her surgery (and for this, I'll always be grateful), I surprised my mom at the last minute with a getaway to WDW (we only had one day in a park - MK, and it was awesome). This was my last "trip" (just one day!) to WDW.
DG - 78! This is my grandma, who I mentioned above. My grandma started our entire family's love for all things Disney, and that is just one of the things I love her for. Although she needs oxygen and a scooter, she is SO excited for this trip. Because of her scooter and oxygen needs, she's driving up with my aunt.
DA - 58, my mom's sister, and like a second mother to me. My aunt has this wonderful ability to see everything with the wonder I hope to have after so many WDW trips (hasn't waned yet!). She'll be driving up in her SUV with my grandma, and will arrive on Saturday (the rest of us arrive that day by plane).
DC - 25 (turning 25 this month), my cousin, who is like another sister to me (and my DA's daughter). Growing up, we all went to WDW together, and it's important to us to keep the tradition of family trips going.
Here's a picture of everyone from our last group trip in 2003 (that's everyone, plus my brother, who lives in Boston and, sadly, won't be joining us on this trip . I'm all the way to the left, btw...makes me feel old (wow, just realized how much weight my mom has lost since then, too)! Plus, I was about 20 pounds thinner there, but hey, it reminds me of my goal!):
Wow, this is getting long already - next post will include our dates, hotel, etc, and our DDP info. Hope everyone enjoys the ride :sohappy:
