Pre-Trip Two Vets set to drag 2 first timers through the world! Project Niece and Nephew Part 1

Alright,

I know i just finished my Trip report for my wife and I's little getaway for hitting 10 years of marriage, but really what am i going to do with myself for the next 278 days and counting.

Here i will go ahead and introduce you to the clan on this trip, and Chronicle what i hope to be a pretty unique surprise!


As ,mentioned in my trip report, the first night there, we called and used the bounce back offer to book a trip for my oldest Niece and Nephew for their First ever trip! This is part of a multi year plan to get everyone to the world to experience it at least once in their life, and hopefully extend the love of the parks to the next generation, as my wife and I have no children of our own, and my Daughter ( step Daughter) is already addicted.

We will be arriving on the 5th of July, and leaving on the 11th of July. This also encompasses my wife's birthday on the 9th. So lets call it a 2 for trip :)

Heres the Motley Crue!

DW- My wife, whos more addicted to the parks than me i think
DN- My Neice Hannah. This will be her very first trip, and shes now 17,
DNF- My Nephew Henry he will be 13 at time of travel.
and of course ME!!!


SO quick story, we are not originally from TN, like everyone here were transplants, Shocker right? for most of the kids lives, we were right on top of them, within 5 minutes, and they were at the house all the time. Then came 2014, when we moved here for work. There have been few and far between trips either for them to come here, or us to go there, but we really haven't had the quality time that we once had with them.

For the longest time, we have wanted to take them, as every time we go, we bring them back something, and they see the photos, and hear the stories, but really have no idea what were talking about. I know deep down, my sister in law would love love love to take them, but just cant financially do it. To me that is where we come in.

My wife and i work hard, and are blessed these days, that finally we can afford to do it!

With that said, there currently is a 3 year plan

2020 Hannah and Henry
2021 My youngest Nephew, and youngest niece
2022 My sister in law adult only trip.

This kills several birds with 1 stone. 2020 puts us there for things opening in 2020, 221 hopefully for some early celebrations for the 50th, and 2022 hopefully most of EPCOT is ready to be launched.

Now July is never a time i say " hey lets go to Disney" No usually you say its really freaking hot outside, wheres the AC??

However, with school being out, in the north, and how unpredictable Maine weather is, we figured July is a safe bet. Lets face it, if they are still going to school in July, there's bigger problems for sure!

Now i must now divulge this information.. No one knows... well my sister inlaw knows, but thats it. My wife went up for a visit a few weeks before we were to go on our small get away trip, and asked her sister if it was OK. She didnt want to offend her, or make her sad because she cant do it for them, so we wanted to make sure we had her blessing to do so, and she said yes so it was on!


On the Drive back we kept awake by brainstorming on how to tell the kids, could we get a custom character call? can we send them something, what can we do? Nothing was coming to us.. Fast forward a week or so, we had gone to dinner, and i mentioned " i wish there was some kind of box subscription thing we could send" so like many times, my DW is so smart! ( no she didn't pay me to say that, however she will agree) She found one, and we started looking at them... Then we decided, Hey!! We can do that, cheaper, and more personal. SO in that came the plan of a box for them all.

2 that will be CONGRATS your going to DISNEY WORLD!!!!

and 2 that say DONT think we forgot you your next!

Now this actually works out in a lot of ways!

My youngest Nephew has some health issues with his legs, and has had to have surgery, so this wait time allows him to fully heal, and make sure hes strong and ready to drag us around for a week ha!

my youngest niece actually just spent the summer with us, so in all reality to be fair to her brothers and sisters that didn't get to come with her.

This is the Plan for the Boxes for the two going this year ( im still brainstorming how to do the " dont think we have forgotten you" boxes)

Letter from their favorite character welcoming them and congratulating them.
Park Maps from each park so they can do some planning and let us know what is a must do for them
Custom videos explaining the ins and outs of each park ( they have no idea what is there, as they haven't been exposed very much to them or even know there are that many)
Disney themed games, and other travel games for the drive
Some sort of early trinket or gift(s), such as a water bottle, blanket, or something else we can get from Shop Disney.
and whatever else we can come up with and fit in the box.

We will be getting their flights as well, so My mother inlaw even gets a break! She will fly down with them, and stay at the house for a week, help my daughter with the dogs and fish and all of that, and keep tabs on the house, and we will take the kiddos on a trip of a lifetime.


So far ive got a first draft of the Letters, i really wish i could find a downloadable template that was just like Walt Disney world stationary, but thus far i haven't.
Now that Disney doesn't do the planning DVDS, i have had to get Creative, and having to do some fancy stuff with YouTube to make up some videos and such to get in the box so they can see what we have got them into!

Another member in another forum here gave me an idea for custom shutterfly books, so im going to look into that with some photos of our last couple trips so they can have some photos of important things in the parks, like dole whips! Ha!

Follow along for all the fun we will have trying to count down a long time, and the building of the boxes!

If you have any ideas along the way shout em out :)
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
4 sleeps, 5 days and ill be there sipping a cocktail. My anxiety is kicking in. I want to be there so so bad. Today is the earnings call, and all i can think of is " i hope they dont close back down and i have to tell these kids they cant go" i know its stupid, but its where my mind goes under these times being so close. Just give me my Splash Mountain, Give me my Flights of Passage LOL. Thanks for listening to me vent!

I have started making my instruction sheets for animal care and pool care while were gone. As a side note, My wife has always wanted to go at christmas, and im thinking we should take my daughter and her Fiancee with us, but it comes down to finding someone to take care of my fish. I can board the dogs, at least it gives my mind some things to throw around.

Im assuming that bounce back offers are not a thing currently so once we get back, we will be booking another for my other niece and nephew.
If for some reason my youngest nephew cant go due to his leg issues, the trip will be pushed back a year for him, and we will take the Daughter and he fiancee.

Really hoping my wife falls in love with Kidani house.
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Captains log. August 6th. 2 sleeps to Wheels up. Today is my last day of work. I took tomorrw off to help kids pack. do laundry, get animals food ready etc, and get instructions done for everyone. Saturday Evening we start the drive. Were thinking around 10-11 CSt, which should put us there in time for a lunch time bread service via Sanaa lounge sunday, then some pool time, then room to change, and off to the Boathouse! We are so close i can taste it!
 

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Captains log. August 6th. 2 sleeps to Wheels up. Today is my last day of work. I took tomorrw off to help kids pack. do laundry, get animals food ready etc, and get instructions done for everyone. Saturday Evening we start the drive. Were thinking around 10-11 CSt, which should put us there in time for a lunch time bread service via Sanaa lounge sunday, then some pool time, then room to change, and off to the Boathouse! We are so close i can taste it!

Be safe, have a fun trip and don't let the anticipation cause you to put your foot in the floor, especially around Atlanta and south to Macon. I had to go that way a few days ago and it seemed the State Patrol and local sheriff's were out in force. Could have just been my imagination, but either way I know the temptation is to put it in the wind. The money you save from speeding tickets can be better spent at WDW.
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Be safe, have a fun trip and don't let the anticipation cause you to put your foot in the floor, especially around Atlanta and south to Macon. I had to go that way a few days ago and it seemed the State Patrol and local sheriff's were out in force. Could have just been my imagination, but either way I know the temptation is to put it in the wind.
We did that a couple years ago. We live smack dab between Nashville and Huntsville, so we ignore Atlanta, and go down through Alabama.

I65 to Route 231 just past Montgomery, then that till we Grab I10 through Tallahassee until it meets to I75. I got pulled over like 30 minutes down the road from the house in 2018 from excitement LOL. I cruise control now! The drive is half the fun. My niece and nephew are night owls anyways, so all the commotion in the car will help keep me awake. Couple stops for gas in the truck, and we will be ready for a week of fun! Cant wait to see their faces when we arrive to Kidani!!!!!!!
 

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
We did that a couple years ago. We live smack dab between Nashville and Huntsville, so we ignore Atlanta, and go down through Alabama.

I65 to Route 231 just past Montgomery, then that till we Grab I10 through Tallahassee until it meets to I75. I got pulled over like 30 minutes down the road from the house in 2018 from excitement LOL. I cruise control now! The drive is half the fun. My niece and nephew are night owls anyways, so all the commotion in the car will help keep me awake. Couple stops for gas in the truck, and we will be ready for a week of fun! Cant wait to see their faces when we arrive to Kidani!!!!!!!

Avoiding Atlanta is a good thing!
 

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
Ever stop at Dreamland BBQ in Alabama? My favorite. I love the sauce. We go through Aabama on the way to Pensacola to watch the Blue Angels fly and I like me some Dreamland.
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Ever stop at Dreamland BBQ in Alabama? My favorite. I love the sauce. We go through Aabama on the way to Pensacola to watch the Blue Angels fly and like me some Dreamland.
We have not. Ive been as far as pensacola once, we came back that way to stop in pensacola on the 2018 trip, and got whataburger because we dont have it ha! We really like the route for the things you see. Like the giant Peanut festival site just at the end of alabama before you cross into the panhandle.
 

epcotisbest

Well-Known Member
We have not. Ive been as far as pensacola once, we came back that way to stop in pensacola on the 2018 trip, and got whataburger because we dont have it ha! We really like the route for the things you see. Like the giant Peanut festival site just at the end of alabama before you cross into the panhandle.

If you ever get a chance to visit the NAS Pensacola museum, it is well worth the stop. Plus, it is free to visit, so that is a plus.
Whoops! Just read it is currently closed due to Covid. Oh well, I suppose it will be opened soon enough. Plus, the beaches are beautiful.

 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
If you ever get a chance to visit the NAS Pensacola museum, it is well worth the stop. Plus, it is free to visit, so that is a plus.
Whoops! Just read it is currently closed due to Covid. Oh well, I suppose it will be opened soon enough. Plus, the beaches are beautiful.

The beaches are for sure! we saw a bit of it while we were there. There is a Saltwater fish store that i had planned to check out there, that was the reason we stopped etc, but definitely looked at the beaches etc. I grew up near the coasts of Maine, so im no stranger to a beach. its the one thing i occasionally miss.
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Captains log. Watched journey to the center of the earth nesterday to kill some time to finish my last work day I'm now on vacation as of today. One sleep until wheels up! Today is laundry and such along with last minute cleanup to get ready for the daughter and fiance to take care of everything for the week. Can't wait!! Disney world I've missed you!! Here we come!!
 

WEDYENSID

Member
If you mention to a cast member or two about it being their "first trip", you may be able to get the kids some extra or special things while there? My daughter was a cast member for a while, and she said they really like doing something extra for first timers. Try it at the hotel, and at the parks - Good Luck, and Have a Great Trip!;) I wonder if they still give out the free buttons anymore?
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I'm sooo looking forward to hearing about when the kids figure you where you are staying! Enjoy not getting any sleep tonight!
Considering they know like 0 about any of the resorts at all, it should be a big surprise. We have a standard view villa, but I never underestimate Disney magic. I'm going to try to stay up so I can nap Tomorrow. We drive through the night to miss traffic etc so wheels up will likely be 10 or 11 CST. My nephew is a night owl. He's the one keeping me going through the late hours before the sun comes up. We bought him this cheesy joke pack just for the ride. Their eyes when they see the animals will be priceless!!
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
If you mention to a cast member or two about it being their "first trip", you may be able to get the kids some extra or special things while there? My daughter was a cast member for a while, and she said they really like doing something extra for first timers. Try it at the hotel, and at the parks - Good Luck, and Have a Great Trip!;) I wonder if they still give out the free buttons anymore?
Every time I've called Disney they always ask what we're celebrating. And I say it's my neice and nephews first time. When I put in my room requests I mentioned it was my wife's dream to stay with animals outside, and my neice and nephews first time ever, so we shall see what Disney has up it's sleeve. They already moved us from all stars to AkL kidani so we shall see! As of last September you could still get buttons, but with covid idk.
 

WEDYENSID

Member
Every time I've called Disney they always ask what we're celebrating. And I say it's my neice and nephews first time. When I put in my room requests I mentioned it was my wife's dream to stay with animals outside, and my neice and nephews first time ever, so we shall see what Disney has up it's sleeve. They already moved us from all stars to AkL kidani so we shall see! As of last September you could still get buttons, but with covid idk.
Wouldn't hurt to fax in your room request directly to the hotel. I did that many times at the Poly, and it worked about 75% of the time. Not easy finding the direct fax number, but it is possible.
 

cgersic

Well-Known Member
Every time I've called Disney they always ask what we're celebrating. And I say it's my neice and nephews first time. When I put in my room requests I mentioned it was my wife's dream to stay with animals outside, and my neice and nephews first time ever, so we shall see what Disney has up it's sleeve. They already moved us from all stars to AkL kidani so we shall see! As of last September you could still get buttons, but with covid idk.
No more buttons :( I found out my niece was pregnant when we were there, so I wanted to get a First Time button and it was a hard NO.
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Wouldn't hurt to fax in your room request directly to the hotel. I did that many times at the Poly, and it worked about 75% of the time. Not easy finding the direct fax number, but it is possible.
What do you have to put on the fax for them to know who you are etc?
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Res. #, all names, and your "story" - first timers, wife & animals, may consider a DVC eventually, whatever you can add helps.
Ok. Now to see if Kidani accepts faxes, and if I can find the number. So little of Jambo is open if want it to go directly to Kidani.
 

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