Well, we're off to Orlando in the morning.
Savannah won a trip to Disney World about 7 years ago. I filled out a contest form in a Disney store at a mall by me. I remember my sister was with me at the time. My sister HATES to shop and I recall her standing there, looking bored, saying, "No one ever wins those things, let's get out of here!"
I was at a meeting when the call came in to inform us we'd won the grand prize. My husband answered the phone and almost hung up on them thinking it was some time share scam. He called me at my meeting and asked if I knew anything about a Cinderella Disney trip. LOL!
Anyway, we spent one day in the parks. The next day, we stayed in the Magic Kingdom all day doing stuff/getting pictures taken and such because of the contest. Savannah, my mom, and I spent the whole third day in Celebration Hospital (it was NOT a celebration, by the way). I was dying of pain from a stupid kidney stone and Savannah had a bad ear infection. That was the end of that trip. I only had 4 kids at the time and Lexi was just a baby. Austin and
Savannah are the only ones who remember anything from the trip.
So, this will be the first real vacation we're taking to Disney. I'm honestly kicking myself for setting up this trip because Disney World is just so ridiculously expensive. Thankfully I had already purchased the park tickets about six years ago thinking we'd make it there eventually, so I didn't have that expense. But still...
But the kids keep talking about the trip. I'm sure they're going to love it because they keep saying things like, "Do we have to go?" Can't we go to Discovery Cove instead? Could we go camping?" Yep, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy about spending the money on this trip.
So, I'll be bringing my laptop, but I don't know how much updating I'll do. I'm sure I'll have some pictures to share at least. I'm going to try to just relax and enjoy being with the kids without other distractions this week. Well, as much as I can relax while watching 6 kids in a ginormous park where someone is bound to get separated from us. I've already got the SafetyTats packed!
We just told Austin and Savannah that we're leaving in the morning. We told all the other kids that we're not going until Monday. (We didn't want them staying awake all night, excited about leaving in the morning.)
Hopefully this trip will not include any ambulance rides or trips to hospitals.
Have lots of fun on your trip! I can't wait to see pictures :D
ReplyDeleteYeah... no ambulance trips this time. ONLY fun at Disney!
ReplyDeleteAnd I so get you about the expensiveness. We're headed to Orlando on Sunday and are staying offsite at a Marriott. We'll probably go to Disney one day (no idea which yet!) but the rest of the time, we're hanging out at the pool and going on the whole family bikes they provide. Good luck to you!
Be sure to wave at me as you fly over me on your way to Orlando. We live in Georgia just south of the Atlanta Airport! LOL! Have fun. I have never been and I am closing in on 29. I am going in June for the first time with my kids! I think I am more excited then they are.
ReplyDeleteoh, that sounds sooo cool, I remember I went to Disney when I was around 12 and I loved it. Its every kid's dream to go to Disneyland!
ReplyDeleteHope you and the kiddos will have fun there and remember to take lots of pictures for us~
Have a ton of fun!! And a safe trip.
ReplyDeleteHave a blast. I'm a bit jealous and hoping that we can get a Disney trip out of my car accident settlement. We shall see.
ReplyDeleteDisney is the BEST - relax and have a great time!
ReplyDeleteThis is supposed to be the best month of the year to go to Disney World...they say it's the least crowded time...so hopefully ya'll will have a great time! Safe travels!
ReplyDeleteJenny
LOL I love that you told the younger kids you're leaving Monday. Why didn't I think of that?
ReplyDeleteYou will Twitter won't you? How can we survive a WHOLE week without a Twitter? You've got me hooked!
ReplyDeleteDiane
Woo hoo! Disney or BUST! Great idea -- not telling the younger kids that you're leaving in the morning. I love your devious thinking!!! hahaha
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful, safe trip. Can't wait to see all the pictures!
Donna in PA :)
Have a great trip! We took our kids in March and they had a great time. My kids really loved Sea World too, although I don't know if you'll be able to fit that in your schedule.
ReplyDeleteWe went to Disneyland last December. We got the park hopper passes for Disney/California adventure, and spent three days at Disneyland. We filled the bottom of our diaper bag with sandwiches and juice boxes so we only needed to buy one meal at the park.
ReplyDeleteThe food is what is the most expensive! However, I was impressed that they are now giving more healthy choices for the kids meals.
I'm sure you'll have a great time!!
We did Disney for the first time this year, and loved every second of it! I don't know if you are bringing your own stroller or not, but I am a HUGE fan of the ones that you can rent there...they really are easy to push/steer and great when the smaller kids get tired of walking (like my kiddo did after about 5 minutes in the park...lol!).
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great time! Oh, BTW...you can save some serious money on souveniers if you go to the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Turkey Lake Rd (it is right about 7 miles up the interstate from the park). They have really cute, inexpensive t-shirts, stuffed Mickey/Minnies, autograph books, etc. And when we went we brought some snacks in with us every day and security never said "no" about them, either.
Good luck on your trip!
Have a wonderful time. Getting ready with a large family is stressful. I hope you can relax, have fun, and keep track of em once you get there! : )
ReplyDeleteHave a great time. I bet the older kids will enjoy it once they get there.
ReplyDeleteTry to relax and enjoy yourself.
Sherry
There are a whole bunch of websites out there with ideas for saving $$ at Disney. Just Google.
ReplyDeleteI found one way to save money was to bring a water bottles and keep refilling them at the fountains. They fountain water tastes bad so I added Crystal Light Singles. Worked great. Kids loved it too. We also brought in our own snacks.
You'll have a great time... Older kids too! Enjoy :)
Don't worry about losing a kid in the parks. The CM's are AWESOME with lost kids. I'm just saying....although, your child, after being lost for any period of time, may suffer seperation anxiety for months afterwards.
ReplyDeleteSo I've heard...
Enjoy coming to my fabulous state! If you get bored with Disney, you can always take trip over to IKEA near the Mall at Millenia. Oh that's right, you don't like to shop -- I don't either, but I love IKEA. anyway, have a grand time visiting the rat :) lol
ReplyDeletehAVE A WONDERFUL TRIP! lOOING FORWARD TO LOTS OF STORIES AND GREAT PICTURES
ReplyDeleteHave a awesome time! Can't wait to hear about it and see the pictures when you get back! And BTW, I totally thought you were going to say that "Savannah won a trip to Disney World about 7 years ago and we're finally taking it!" LOL!
ReplyDeleteHope you have a great time. If you have a wild time, at least it will give you something to blog about. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteOn our first "whole family" Disney trip our oldest was 11 and youngest turned 6 while we were there. We had 3 day park admissions so I went to Foot Locker or somewhere and bought 6 matching t-shirts in each of 3 brightly colored tops to make us easier to spot...yellow, lime green and electric blue....we could see Daddy even if he was WAY ahead of us and isn't very tall...(The next day @ the beach someone recognized us as the "Lemonhead" family--guess it worked--we weren't wearing our t-shirts)
ReplyDeleteGood luck! By the way, I can't stand the grey background for the writing on your blog now. Can't they just make it white again?
ReplyDeleteHey Dawn! I, too, spent an entire day at Celebration Hospital when we were there on vacation! Did you get to see much of the city of Celebration? Isn't it creepy? Like a Stepford town. Gave me the heebie-jeebies.
ReplyDelete