jagafen
Wine drinker, family CEO/CFO, uber planner
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2007
Hey guys! Long time no see!
Back in our Disney Days (2008-2012, roughly), I posted much more regularly than I have since then. Figured I'd re-introduce myself and my family, and kill the last 30 minutes or so that I have at work by doing a little pre-trip report. Bear with me, it's been a while.
About the family: I'm an OT-mid 40s, DH is a teacher-late 40s (I like 'em a bit older ), and DS is 14. The hubs and I have been together for 21 years (crikeys!), married for almost 12 years. Our son will be a high school freshman next year. DH also coaches HS sports for 6 1/2 months out of the school year, so some days, I barely get to see him. Part of what makes his crazy schedule tolerable is the fact that we get to go to FL (or another tropical destination) for our bi-annual BIG FAMILY VACATION!! (read that in a deep booming voice). I am an UBER vacation planner, and love diving into all the details, working and re-working plans, and putting the perfecting extra special touches on our vacations. DH LOVES that I'm so into planning the vacations, but let's be honest, it just helps pass the time when he can't be around as much due to his schedule.As he puts it, he likes to go and do as he's told, without having to put too much thought into it. Everyone gets a little of what they want. It works well for us. I do involve him in the planning, especially when I need to bounce an idea or two off someone, but I limit the thousands of details that go into one of MY "perfectly planned" vacations to those things I really want his input on. Ya follow?
As far as our vacation dynamics...I'm the bigger Disney fan in the family. I've loved our vacations to see the mouse, and they have resulted in some fantastic memories. Things have happened on trips that have brought me to tears more than once. I'm sentimental like that. Universal has never made me cry. DH prefers the Disney dining options over Universal's, but Universal Parks over Disney (in general). DS is a teen now, who currently thinks he's "too old" for Disney. I should also mention that we're a short family. Petite little folk who spend most of our days on our tippy toes trying to reach things that are out of our reach. Which is why we're going back to Universal this time...DS, at 5" tall, is tall enough for the big coasters. He's technically been tall enough since August of 2015, but 2016s vacation was already planned before we realized he was big enough. He wasn't tall enough the last time we were here in 2012, and was a bit upset at 9 that he couldn't ride the big coasters, but we promised him we'd bring him back when he was tall enough. He was always sensitive about his height growing up, so we had a family rule that "we don't ride until we can all ride". This summer, we're all riding! I sincerely hope with all that is in my heart, that he's scared enough to drop an "adult word" on one of the coasters...to honor the family traditions of old. As a young teen, I dropped the F bomb in front of my father for the first time on a roller coaster. THOSE are the kinds of memories you don't forget
DUH-forgot all the trip details!!
Staying at the Hard Rock Hotel-Club Level for a week. We had booked RPR, but decided that the Hard Rock was more our vibe this trip. We're a 70s to current hard rock loving family. The louder, the better as far as I'm concerned. We're celebrating Father's Day this trip...Daddy is going to be treated like a king for all of his hard work supporting our family. Dinner on Father's Day is at the Palm, and as a special surprise, I've booked the semi-private 2 park VIP tour for his Father's Day gift. We're not the Kardashians (we're much smarter), but I sell stuff on Ebay for "mommy's mad money". Usually it just goes into savings, because I'm mostly responsible like that. I decided to really splurge this time and do something we've never done before (and more than likely, will not repeat again!). We also like to rent a cabana and spend one day just lounging by the pool, so we'll be doing that again. When I called to book the cabana at the Hard Rock, we got our pick. After listening to what we wanted, Dante hooked us up with Cabana #10, which if my research proves accurate, is one of the two themed cabanas on their property. I think it's the Aquarium themed one....Stevie Wonder? We'll see
So, for the next 3 months or so, I'll be twiddling my thumbs, trying to come up with things to do, and plan, to keep me busy. I've done our tip envelopes, and I'm starting to squirrel away cash for tips....it's less painful to put it away bit by bit!!
I've also roughed out some "touring plans" just to keep my busy. I know they're really not necessary, especially with the Express passes, but it's part of the planning process for me. Heaven forbid, if there's a mad run on UO during our week there, I'll have a plan! Most of our dining venues are selected, some are booked with reservations as well. Now, if they would just release some actual information about Volcano Bay, I'd be set!!
Back in our Disney Days (2008-2012, roughly), I posted much more regularly than I have since then. Figured I'd re-introduce myself and my family, and kill the last 30 minutes or so that I have at work by doing a little pre-trip report. Bear with me, it's been a while.
About the family: I'm an OT-mid 40s, DH is a teacher-late 40s (I like 'em a bit older ), and DS is 14. The hubs and I have been together for 21 years (crikeys!), married for almost 12 years. Our son will be a high school freshman next year. DH also coaches HS sports for 6 1/2 months out of the school year, so some days, I barely get to see him. Part of what makes his crazy schedule tolerable is the fact that we get to go to FL (or another tropical destination) for our bi-annual BIG FAMILY VACATION!! (read that in a deep booming voice). I am an UBER vacation planner, and love diving into all the details, working and re-working plans, and putting the perfecting extra special touches on our vacations. DH LOVES that I'm so into planning the vacations, but let's be honest, it just helps pass the time when he can't be around as much due to his schedule.As he puts it, he likes to go and do as he's told, without having to put too much thought into it. Everyone gets a little of what they want. It works well for us. I do involve him in the planning, especially when I need to bounce an idea or two off someone, but I limit the thousands of details that go into one of MY "perfectly planned" vacations to those things I really want his input on. Ya follow?
As far as our vacation dynamics...I'm the bigger Disney fan in the family. I've loved our vacations to see the mouse, and they have resulted in some fantastic memories. Things have happened on trips that have brought me to tears more than once. I'm sentimental like that. Universal has never made me cry. DH prefers the Disney dining options over Universal's, but Universal Parks over Disney (in general). DS is a teen now, who currently thinks he's "too old" for Disney. I should also mention that we're a short family. Petite little folk who spend most of our days on our tippy toes trying to reach things that are out of our reach. Which is why we're going back to Universal this time...DS, at 5" tall, is tall enough for the big coasters. He's technically been tall enough since August of 2015, but 2016s vacation was already planned before we realized he was big enough. He wasn't tall enough the last time we were here in 2012, and was a bit upset at 9 that he couldn't ride the big coasters, but we promised him we'd bring him back when he was tall enough. He was always sensitive about his height growing up, so we had a family rule that "we don't ride until we can all ride". This summer, we're all riding! I sincerely hope with all that is in my heart, that he's scared enough to drop an "adult word" on one of the coasters...to honor the family traditions of old. As a young teen, I dropped the F bomb in front of my father for the first time on a roller coaster. THOSE are the kinds of memories you don't forget
DUH-forgot all the trip details!!
Staying at the Hard Rock Hotel-Club Level for a week. We had booked RPR, but decided that the Hard Rock was more our vibe this trip. We're a 70s to current hard rock loving family. The louder, the better as far as I'm concerned. We're celebrating Father's Day this trip...Daddy is going to be treated like a king for all of his hard work supporting our family. Dinner on Father's Day is at the Palm, and as a special surprise, I've booked the semi-private 2 park VIP tour for his Father's Day gift. We're not the Kardashians (we're much smarter), but I sell stuff on Ebay for "mommy's mad money". Usually it just goes into savings, because I'm mostly responsible like that. I decided to really splurge this time and do something we've never done before (and more than likely, will not repeat again!). We also like to rent a cabana and spend one day just lounging by the pool, so we'll be doing that again. When I called to book the cabana at the Hard Rock, we got our pick. After listening to what we wanted, Dante hooked us up with Cabana #10, which if my research proves accurate, is one of the two themed cabanas on their property. I think it's the Aquarium themed one....Stevie Wonder? We'll see
So, for the next 3 months or so, I'll be twiddling my thumbs, trying to come up with things to do, and plan, to keep me busy. I've done our tip envelopes, and I'm starting to squirrel away cash for tips....it's less painful to put it away bit by bit!!
I've also roughed out some "touring plans" just to keep my busy. I know they're really not necessary, especially with the Express passes, but it's part of the planning process for me. Heaven forbid, if there's a mad run on UO during our week there, I'll have a plan! Most of our dining venues are selected, some are booked with reservations as well. Now, if they would just release some actual information about Volcano Bay, I'd be set!!
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