Two days ago the temps here in central Wisconsin reached 90 degrees with 1,000% humidity (well, not really - but you get the point!). So this got me to thinking about our upcoming trip to WDW in August! It was so unbearable when you walked outside, I wondered how we'll make it through our trip, especially since temps can easily reach above 90 in August in Florida! But I’m sure we’ll do just fine – I mean we will be in WDW!!!
So welcome to my first WDW PTR (I did a PTR for our cruise in February, but that’s different)!
This trip it will be just the three of us, myself – Chris, my husband – Brian and our daughter – Emily. I’ve read so many great trip reports over the past few months and so many of you have shared bits and pieces about yourselves, I wanted to share a little bit about us! (Fair warning – this is going to be text heavy, so if you’re interested in the details of the trip, you can skip to the next post
)
Me – I am an executive assistant at an insurance company and have been with the same company for 21 ½ years. I love my job and the people I work with, I'm so lucky! The thing I love about living in Wisconsin is the changing of the seasons. Yes, winters can get harsh, but the weather we have in spring and fall make up for the nastiness of winter! Plus it’s a good excuse to sit inside and sit by a fire
My Disney obsession started as a child. In 1982 my grandmother (my dad's mom) took our entire family (14 of us
) down to Florida for a winter break. We all loaded up in one motorhome and drove the how ever many hours down to central Florida to meet up with some family friends (stopping along the way to sleep in motels). From there we went to Circus World (an amusement park in that area but closed in 1986), Cypress Gardens (now Lego Land) and then Magic Kingdom! I was only 9 at the time, so I don’t recall much of the first visit – only the few memories I see from pictures. But then our family moved to the Clearwater area in 1984 and we lived there for two years before moving back to Wisconsin. But whenever any of our family members came to visit from Wisconsin (my mom was one of 15 kids, so we had lots of aunts, uncles and cousins!), we would of course load up the car and drive the hour and a half to Magic Kingdom. I don’t know how many times we made it there, but I’m sure it was at least 15-20 over the course of 2 years. I only recall going to Epcot once as a child, but don’t have much for memories of that unfortunately. The only memory I recall is there was some attraction that had Michael Jackson in it
Fast forward to 1999 – that’s when Brian had his first visit and we only visited Magic Kingdom that visit. We also did Universal, but at the time, only Universal Studios was there (we did a trip with my family and went to visit friends we kept in touch with after moving back from Florida). After that visit, my next visit was in 2003. We had a trip planned, myself, my sister, my sister-in-law and my mom to go to Magic Kingdom and Sea World for a long weekend. My mom had been battling cancer for about 5 ½ years and unfortunately the prognosis for her was not good. My dad suggested the four of us go on a girls only trip and take my mom and enjoy ourselves, so we were excited to do this for her and planned a trip for September of 2003. Unfortunately we lost her in July
, but my dad still insisted we all go on the trip. So we took one of her sisters with us and the four of us went. It was a hard trip to go on, but after going back and after having a daughter (Emily was 1 when I went on this trip), I knew I would have to go back with her and see WDW through the eyes of a child
Brian is the UPS Man! He’s been with the company 27 years – yikes! How can that be when we’re only 29? As mentioned he and I went to MK in 1999. He did not enjoy it – WHAT??!
That was the extent of any Disney vacation for him. He never went as a kid, so didn’t get the hype I suppose. This is a park for kids – so he said
Emily just turned 15 in May. She will be starting 10th grade at the end of August and will be moving into a new school (middle school here is 7th through 9th grade and then high school is 10th through 12th grade – even though 9th is the technical start of high school). She’s excited but nervous, which is expected since two 9th grade classes from two schools merge into 10th grade, so the school and the classes are much larger – but she’ll be okay! She also has a job this summer working for my aunt who owns a greenhouse and she really enjoys it. She loves the paycheck every two weeks that's for sure
When Emily was 3, I really wanted to take her to WDW. I mentioned it (okay probably begged Brian – ha!) about taking her. He was reluctant at first, but he finally gave in and said sure, we’ll take her but don’t ask to go again for a really long time. Okay – I’m fine with that! So our first trip together as a family was in March of 2006. We hadn’t even finished that trip and Brian said, I think we should go again next year
And this trip in August will be our 9th trip together as a family since the time Brian said we would not go again for a long time!
Emily on her first trip to Disney:
Out of the last 8 trips, they have all been just the three of us with the exception of our last trip in 2015. We were celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. We were married on my dad’s birthday, so we thought it would be fun to have him join us on this trip. It was a very different trip for us, but I am happy that we were able to get my dad to WDW again. Here he is with "his two girls" as he calls us Emily has changed just a bit since 2006
My dad really enjoyed himself as you can see from our ToT picture (you know how the photographer tells you to look like you're scared). It was fun to watch him have such a good time on the trip. I don't know how many times he thanked for us taking him along with us.
I just love this picture - the three adults are really getting into it but Emily seems too cool to act scared!
Unfortunately due to his health, I don’t think he’ll be able to make a trip back, so I am extremely grateful he was able to join us on our last trip.
My apologies that was so long. Next up – actual plans!
So welcome to my first WDW PTR (I did a PTR for our cruise in February, but that’s different)!
This trip it will be just the three of us, myself – Chris, my husband – Brian and our daughter – Emily. I’ve read so many great trip reports over the past few months and so many of you have shared bits and pieces about yourselves, I wanted to share a little bit about us! (Fair warning – this is going to be text heavy, so if you’re interested in the details of the trip, you can skip to the next post
)Me – I am an executive assistant at an insurance company and have been with the same company for 21 ½ years. I love my job and the people I work with, I'm so lucky! The thing I love about living in Wisconsin is the changing of the seasons. Yes, winters can get harsh, but the weather we have in spring and fall make up for the nastiness of winter! Plus it’s a good excuse to sit inside and sit by a fire
My Disney obsession started as a child. In 1982 my grandmother (my dad's mom) took our entire family (14 of us
) down to Florida for a winter break. We all loaded up in one motorhome and drove the how ever many hours down to central Florida to meet up with some family friends (stopping along the way to sleep in motels). From there we went to Circus World (an amusement park in that area but closed in 1986), Cypress Gardens (now Lego Land) and then Magic Kingdom! I was only 9 at the time, so I don’t recall much of the first visit – only the few memories I see from pictures. But then our family moved to the Clearwater area in 1984 and we lived there for two years before moving back to Wisconsin. But whenever any of our family members came to visit from Wisconsin (my mom was one of 15 kids, so we had lots of aunts, uncles and cousins!), we would of course load up the car and drive the hour and a half to Magic Kingdom. I don’t know how many times we made it there, but I’m sure it was at least 15-20 over the course of 2 years. I only recall going to Epcot once as a child, but don’t have much for memories of that unfortunately. The only memory I recall is there was some attraction that had Michael Jackson in itFast forward to 1999 – that’s when Brian had his first visit and we only visited Magic Kingdom that visit. We also did Universal, but at the time, only Universal Studios was there (we did a trip with my family and went to visit friends we kept in touch with after moving back from Florida). After that visit, my next visit was in 2003. We had a trip planned, myself, my sister, my sister-in-law and my mom to go to Magic Kingdom and Sea World for a long weekend. My mom had been battling cancer for about 5 ½ years and unfortunately the prognosis for her was not good. My dad suggested the four of us go on a girls only trip and take my mom and enjoy ourselves, so we were excited to do this for her and planned a trip for September of 2003. Unfortunately we lost her in July
, but my dad still insisted we all go on the trip. So we took one of her sisters with us and the four of us went. It was a hard trip to go on, but after going back and after having a daughter (Emily was 1 when I went on this trip), I knew I would have to go back with her and see WDW through the eyes of a childBrian is the UPS Man! He’s been with the company 27 years – yikes! How can that be when we’re only 29? As mentioned he and I went to MK in 1999. He did not enjoy it – WHAT??!
That was the extent of any Disney vacation for him. He never went as a kid, so didn’t get the hype I suppose. This is a park for kids – so he saidEmily just turned 15 in May. She will be starting 10th grade at the end of August and will be moving into a new school (middle school here is 7th through 9th grade and then high school is 10th through 12th grade – even though 9th is the technical start of high school). She’s excited but nervous, which is expected since two 9th grade classes from two schools merge into 10th grade, so the school and the classes are much larger – but she’ll be okay! She also has a job this summer working for my aunt who owns a greenhouse and she really enjoys it. She loves the paycheck every two weeks that's for sure
When Emily was 3, I really wanted to take her to WDW. I mentioned it (okay probably begged Brian – ha!) about taking her. He was reluctant at first, but he finally gave in and said sure, we’ll take her but don’t ask to go again for a really long time. Okay – I’m fine with that! So our first trip together as a family was in March of 2006. We hadn’t even finished that trip and Brian said, I think we should go again next year
And this trip in August will be our 9th trip together as a family since the time Brian said we would not go again for a long time!Emily on her first trip to Disney:
Out of the last 8 trips, they have all been just the three of us with the exception of our last trip in 2015. We were celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary. We were married on my dad’s birthday, so we thought it would be fun to have him join us on this trip. It was a very different trip for us, but I am happy that we were able to get my dad to WDW again. Here he is with "his two girls" as he calls us
Emily has changed just a bit since 2006My dad really enjoyed himself as you can see from our ToT picture (you know how the photographer tells you to look like you're scared
). It was fun to watch him have such a good time on the trip. I don't know how many times he thanked for us taking him along with us. I just love this picture - the three adults are really getting into it but Emily seems too cool to act scared!Unfortunately due to his health, I don’t think he’ll be able to make a trip back, so I am extremely grateful he was able to join us on our last trip.
My apologies that was so long. Next up – actual plans!
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Not sure what the deal was, but we had a great time once we got going! Hope you do too!! Have a great trip!
. Looking forward to hearing about the Sunday buffet - sounds awesome - I love love love mimosas and agree it's a great way to start the day! Thanks so much!