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 :)
 

MickeyCB

Well-Known Member
Thank you. She is gone now. Everyone said thier goodbyes today, and I brought her to the vet to help her cross the bridge. It's funny how it changes you, when you feel that last breath slip away from them. She kept looking at me thanking me for her freedom. she will be looking down on us always.
So sorry to hear about your dog. Hope you were able to raise a glass in her honor.
 

Songbird76

Well-Known Member
24 days till disney. captains log. Took the truck to the shop for a once over and a oil change before the drive. Came home from and my wife has me rush our oldest dog miley to the vet as she had vomited twice this morning....


Off to the vet, and we vomited twice in the car on the way there with my neice. She had this growth on her leg that came on all of a sudden that seems to be getting much worse so we needed that looked at....

Doctor came in and said we have 2 things, it's either puss, and we can fix it, or it's serum, and that means cancer.... I will tell you this is the first time I hoped for puss. She's going on 13, and actually my wife has had her longer than me, so she's a pretty special old lady to all of us.

doctor came back and said it's serum and she's got 48 hours maybe. So I packed her up, hit an Arby's and got the old girl some sliders.

We are home now and making the final plans on when she will cross the rainbow bridge. She's been a good old girl, moved here with us, never had a bad look, and still is happy to see you. Here's some of my favorite photos of her.View attachment 484131View attachment 484132View attachment 484134
Oh no!!! I'm so so sorry! That's so hard! Nothing you can do to make her feel better but be there. Sending prayers and pixie dust your way. What a beautiful girl she is!
 

ajrwdwgirl

Premium Member
24 days till disney. captains log. Took the truck to the shop for a once over and a oil change before the drive. Came home from and my wife has me rush our oldest dog miley to the vet as she had vomited twice this morning....


Off to the vet, and we vomited twice in the car on the way there with my neice. She had this growth on her leg that came on all of a sudden that seems to be getting much worse so we needed that looked at....

Doctor came in and said we have 2 things, it's either puss, and we can fix it, or it's serum, and that means cancer.... I will tell you this is the first time I hoped for puss. She's going on 13, and actually my wife has had her longer than me, so she's a pretty special old lady to all of us.

doctor came back and said it's serum and she's got 48 hours maybe. So I packed her up, hit an Arby's and got the old girl some sliders.

We are home now and making the final plans on when she will cross the rainbow bridge. She's been a good old girl, moved here with us, never had a bad look, and still is happy to see you. Here's some of my favorite photos of her.View attachment 484131View attachment 484132View attachment 484134

So sorry to hear about your dog's condition. It's always so hard to lose them. I'm glad she was able to enjoy some Arby's sliders!
 

Loco_driver

Well-Known Member
So sorry to hear about your pup. It’s hard losing a family member of any kind. Even the furry kind. You made the right decision even though it is an incredibly difficult one to make.
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
So sorry to hear about your pup. It’s hard losing a family member of any kind. Even the furry kind. You made the right decision even though it is an incredibly difficult one to make.
It's never easy, but as I held her in my arms at the doctor, she gave me a kiss, and looked me in the eyes. In my thoughts that was her telling me it was OK dad. Ill be waiting for you dad.
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Yesterday I spent with my neice. Took her to lunch, went to the fish store just to look around etc. We had a blast. She was the rock for me through this. She was there to help with miley, getting her to the vet several times, helping me in the room as she went to the rainbow bridge and all. While we were out the vet called and our sweet girls remains we're back. So we stopped on the way home and picked up her ashes and her paw print. She is backk home with us where she belongs.the emotions are still pretty strong, but I know we did the right thing.
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Magic bands are here! We play the " fun family game" of do you have everything you need this week. Basically we will have them pack their suitcases this week to make sure we have everything, and then unpack. This way by the weekend we know if we need to buy anything this weekend, as its our last weekend before we head down. Lets see how " fun" this is!
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Captains log. 11 days until i have a Pina Colava in my hand. True to form, work is ramping up, and were down people due to others vacations. The pre vacation stress is getting going for sure. We need to start packing this week along with other things cant wait to be " Home"
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Its funny how Disney can really make things better without you really knowing it. Last night was wednesday night, which means our favorite Podcast guy was live for wednesday night live, and it was at a Resort. I needed that. I needed to chat with fellow disney fans, i needed to make jokes, i needed to see the bubble, and hear the music. Its really funny how the little things leading up really soothe you. Work has been a bear, and my wife and I both work for the same company, so we often talk about it, complain about it etc, but putting that live on the TV last night, and laughing for hours with all of our virtual Disney nerd friends really hit the spot! I have 5 work days between me and 2 weeks off.

I took the week after we get back off, to kill the vacation time monster down to a level thats managable, and to recover and get the kids ready for their trip back home. I feel blessed to work for a company that values employees so much, and gives us so much vacation time. I have been with them for 3 years and 4 months give or take a few days, and i sit at 4 weeks and a day of vacation time. It becomes tedious to try to fit it in around business.... Real world problems right? But its been nice to have the time off this summer here and there to spend with the kids. 9 more sleeps and we pack the truck... 10 days and im on site...
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We watched a few disney food blog videos last night, to really kick off the final countdown with the kids, and they still dont understand how amazing these crowd levels are right now. They still dont get the levels they usually are at where you are manhandled down main street by a mob of your new best friends, or when the Flights of Passage queue standby line reaches into Africa... I cant wait to see their faces. For us were just excited to not have to over plan every move, and deal with longer lines. The closer we get the more excited we get. Today is my last Friday at work as i took next friday off to get packed and help the kids with stuff before we pack up Saturday, leave late Saturday night heading for Kidani.

Its funny, as the only thing they can compare it to, is a small regional theme park, they still dont fathom how giant WDW is. 9 days... 9 days until im eating at the boathouse!!
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Captains log... no children have been harmed LOL, however they have been here since June 18th, my wife is growing weary, and tired LOL. Backstory. She wanted this trip, she wanted to take them, and so do I. Usually I am the one that gets stressed and out of it when we have visitors, and I have rather liked them being here, but there are some quirks. Lots of doors opening and closing when were trying to sleep etc. Normal Teenage stuff, like sleeping all day etc. Its their vacation too, so im saving the early morning stuff for when we arrive.

We however had a good weekend. This past weekend, is something in the south that is called tax free weekend. This is when everyone usually goes school shopping so its extra busy, but you dont pay sales tax on items like clothes, certain electronics etc. We didn't plan it this way, but we had a master list of things the kids needed, and we needed.

Sunglasses, underwear, socks etc, you know that final " were going to Disney and we still need this" list. SO we slept in, cleaned the house, let the kids nap, and then headed out later in the day to get started.

My nephew has been asking to try Frozen Custard, so we took him to the local Andy's Frozen custard after hitting up a few stores to get what we needed. Capped that off, with Groceries. Had to pick up minimal supplies for this week, and all the snacks we were going to bring down with us. Both for the drive down and back, but since its shorter hours, and more hotel time than we are used to, snacks for the room, and breakfasts.

Its easier with these guys to say " We are heading to the bus stop in an hour. Make some oatmeal, or grab a pop tart lets roll," Than go up to Sanaa and fight over what they want.

Plus that gives more money to spend on them in the parks, for snacks and merch!

5 more sleeps till were packing the truck. I think my wife is also counting the days until we help my daughter pack her car, to head back to Maine to visit family, and deliver these 2 back to their Mom.

Id like to call this the trip that just wouldn't stop evolving.

We made changes along the way, Covid happened, Nana passed, causing the kids to be here sooner than we had thought etc. Its been interesting for sure, but its so close i can almost taste it.

The plan right now is to leave late late Saturday night. My daughter and her Fiancee will be here at the house to watch the dogs, and fish and take care of the pool etc while were gone. Pretty sweet deal, as i document all animal care, Ill mow the lawn and do all the weed eating etc before i leave, so all they have to do is use the pool, clean up the house from their mess, and love/ feed the animals.This gives us a piece of mind that everything is fine here, and we are just a call away if they run into anything. I even stop making changes to any of the fish tanks about a month before i leave, so theres less chance of a surprise while im gone.

It seems surreal that its almost here. Cant wait to see the look on their faces when we pull in to Kidani House Sunday Morning!
 

Adventure

Active Member
I hope the wait is well worth it and you all have an amazing time! I took my then 18 year old nephew and 16 year old niece for their first trip a few years ago. A trip of firsts for them including flying. They had a blast and talk about it every time I see them. Now they know why their aunt goes there every year. I gave them lots of options as to what to ride or if they wanted swimbreaks. It worked out much better than the "what would you like to do" route. We did have to make a run to the Nike outlet as nephews sneakers quickly brought on blisters. I carry blister bandaids and new pair were great so he was able to put in the park miles after that. Have fun!
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I hope the wait is well worth it and you all have an amazing time! I took my then 18 year old nephew and 16 year old niece for their first trip a few years ago. A trip of firsts for them including flying. They had a blast and talk about it every time I see them. Now they know why their aunt goes there every year. I gave them lots of options as to what to ride or if they wanted swimbreaks. It worked out much better than the "what would you like to do" route. We did have to make a run to the Nike outlet as nephews sneakers quickly brought on blisters. I carry blister bandaids and new pair were great so he was able to put in the park miles after that. Have fun!
We cant wait! OH believe me we carry the blister stuff too, as someone with us always ends up with it ha! I think it will be alot of fun. These kids want to ride, and nows a great time to do just that!
 

Mainahman

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Another update as i forgot, Cash has been converted to Disney Gift cards, Fresh haircuts for everyone today, as my daughter went to beauty school, so she is doing my niece and nephews hair today. Starting to really get excited. This week will prove to be the slowest im sure!
 

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